Trexquant Investment LP Invests $19.77 Million in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 75,038 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $19,772,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 1,012 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Austin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade 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 available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded down $19.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $249.94. The company had a trading volume of 3,055,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,924. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $259.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.14. The company has a market capitalization of $67.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.40%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

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.