Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 43,425 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,032 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,425 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.15% of General Dynamics worth $110,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 169,353 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,623,000 after purchasing an additional 49,467 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $426,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Momentous Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $353,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, William Blair cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $1.35 on Tuesday, hitting $273.93. 1,470,248 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,317,575. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

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.