New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 107 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 222,398 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $58,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $284,818,000 after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $241.98 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $262.55 and its 200-day moving average is $284.58. The company has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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 research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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

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.