UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 36.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,138 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,855 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GD. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $298.59.

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Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $2.84 on Wednesday, hitting $276.98. 451,648 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,314,284. The company has a 50 day moving average of $258.90 and a 200 day moving average of $276.19. The stock has a market cap of $74.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, 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 current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. 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 has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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.