Primecap Management Co. CA Cuts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679,750 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 118,690 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.25% of General Dynamics worth $179,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 24,464 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on GD shares. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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 value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's 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 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 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 Stock Performance

GD stock traded down $2.40 on Friday, hitting $263.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,313,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,440. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. 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 cap of $71.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $258.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.91.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.