Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $20.58 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 77,943 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,577,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % 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.

General Dynamics Stock Down 7.3 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $249.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.54. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

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.