National Pension Service Raises Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 412,768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,417 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.15% of General Dynamics worth $107,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Dynamics news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total transaction of $740,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,184. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,987 shares of company stock valued at $18,836,700 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of GD stock traded up $2.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $295.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 211,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,533. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $283.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.48. The company has a market capitalization of $81.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.53.

General Dynamics Company 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.