General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Position Raised by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 420,032 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,425 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $110,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Community Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.9% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 1,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $269.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $258.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.17. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.