Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $17.04 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,384 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,231 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $108,572,000 after acquiring an additional 357,861 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % 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.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $263.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,673,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,823. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $317.38.

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.