AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 1,091 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $241.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $284.25. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.