Bailard Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Bailard Inc. decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after buying an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 55.2% in 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 last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,110,000 after acquiring an additional 198,185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $284.41 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $280.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.71. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.63.

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.