Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 60,451 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 990.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,557 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 60,451 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for approximately 0.6% of Quantbot Technologies LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $692,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $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 owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $2.33 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $267.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,569,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,020. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $258.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

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.