Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,537 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $23,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,948 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $14,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,057,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $582,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.0% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,101 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 6.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,354 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE GD traded up $1.35 on Wednesday, reaching $243.95. 1,900,001 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,734,415. The business's fifty day moving average price is $260.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.64%.

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.