General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Holdings Boosted by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,504 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,161 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.09% of General Dynamics worth $65,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the fourth 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 period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 55.2% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% during the third 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 period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.7% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE GD traded up $0.78 on Friday, hitting $288.14. 973,927 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,386. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $282.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.05. The company has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.67. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

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.