Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $6.44 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,458 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 7,736 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,178,460 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,262,731,000 after acquiring an additional 49,397 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $269.60. 802,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,249,529. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $258.67 and a 200 day moving average of $277.22. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

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

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. 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 is 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.