Bank of Montreal Can Has $362.91 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,377,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 20,391 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.50% of General Dynamics worth $362,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 116.8% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 37,001 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,298,000 after acquiring an additional 19,932 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.9% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in General Dynamics by 79.1% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 155,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,129,000 after acquiring an additional 68,896 shares during the period. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,648 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $249.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $258.75 and a 200-day moving average of $275.35. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.38 and a one year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $67.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

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.