Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Buys 245 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.2 %

GD opened at $255.41 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.09. The firm has a market cap of $70.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics 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.