General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Norinchukin Bank The

Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,714 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after acquiring an additional 131,268 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,428,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $639,923,000 after purchasing an additional 232,383 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of GD stock traded down $8.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $265.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,245,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,374,933. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $262.54 and its 200 day moving average is $272.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share 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. Shareholders 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 is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.