Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 37,092 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 121.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,571 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,092 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm'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 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. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $3.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $265.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 974,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,991. The company's 50-day moving average is $257.89 and its 200-day moving average is $278.77. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $71.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.