SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Acquires New Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,823 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $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 acquiring an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in 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 buying an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE GD traded down $3.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $250.68. 2,013,286 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,727,237. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.71. 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 company has a market cap of $67.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced 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 research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.71.

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.