General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,031 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,642 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $18,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,581,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 181,703 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $47,877,000 after purchasing an additional 9,235 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Master S Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.83.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded up $0.59 on Friday, reaching $272.30. The stock had a trading volume of 945,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,504. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.62 and a 200 day moving average of $272.30.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

About General Dynamics

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.