American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,706,250 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $449,580,000 after buying an additional 59,944 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,075 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $415,543,000 after acquiring an additional 39,926 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $197,238,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was 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 directly 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 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on GD shares. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.82.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GD traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $272.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,094,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,700. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.94. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. 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 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

About General Dynamics

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.