US Asset Management LLC Invests $614,000 in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

US Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,615,185,000 after buying an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in General Dynamics by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $178,304,000 after acquiring an additional 286,928 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,110,000 after purchasing an additional 198,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.53.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $296.73. The stock had a trading volume of 388,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,299. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $297.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $284.06 and a 200 day moving average of $264.89. The firm has a market cap of $81.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,987 shares of company stock valued at $18,836,700. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.