BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Purchases 16,826 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 60.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,608 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,826 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $12,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after purchasing an additional 543,672 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in General Dynamics by 879.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after purchasing an additional 305,624 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,216,599,000 after acquiring an additional 293,316 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,347,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,119,000 after acquiring an additional 262,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 174.8% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 384,151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $111,458,000 after acquiring an additional 244,373 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $304.74 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $214.53 and a 52-week high of $309.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $83.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.