Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 1,324 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 23,282 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,135,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $1,825,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,252 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $249.94 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $258.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.74. The firm has a market cap of $67.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.50 dividend. 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 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GD. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.