Ally Financial Inc. Takes Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,581,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 131,268 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,109,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,962 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,428,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $639,923,000 after acquiring an additional 232,383 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,706,250 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $449,580,000 after buying an additional 59,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $274.12. 1,126,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,721,739. The company has a market cap of $73.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $294.47.

General Dynamics Profile

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.