Conning Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Conning Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,922 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 6,848 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $35,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 22.8% in the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays cut their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna cut their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $265.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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.