Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $830,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1,172.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,939 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,708 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 7,603 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 12,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.59, for a total transaction of $3,585,476.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,020,909.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,499 shares of company stock worth $15,554,941 in the last quarter. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock traded down $2.37 on Friday, reaching $291.08. The company had a trading volume of 511,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,072,073. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $214.53 and a one year high of $302.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $292.30 and its 200 day moving average is $283.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.17.

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.