Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 4,685 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344,762 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,685 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.13% of General Dynamics worth $90,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $4.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $275.05. 592,193 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,342,917. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $259.10 and its 200 day moving average is $273.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $73.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.82.

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.