Korea Investment CORP Raises Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 41.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,353 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 49,467 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of General Dynamics worth $44,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 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.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.93. 1,470,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,575. The company's 50 day moving average is $258.90 and its 200 day moving average is $276.19. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

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.