Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 181,703 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,235 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.07% of General Dynamics worth $47,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Master S Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GD. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $294.22.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded up $3.98 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $269.71. The company had a trading volume of 666,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,800. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $72.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $263.01 and a 200-day moving average of $272.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics Company 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.