General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 153.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,798 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after buying an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after buying an additional 24,464 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $254.84 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $264.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.56.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.06.

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.