Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,736 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $263.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.79. The stock has a market cap of $71.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

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

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered 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 note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 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 downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

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.