77,943 Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Purchased by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 77,943 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $20,577,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC now owns 9,543 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Orion Investment Co lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 20,198 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,322,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 16,927 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,460,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $394,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $3.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $273.36. The company had a trading volume of 512,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,506. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average 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 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 $73.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

Remove Ads

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on 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. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.