Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $1.25 Million Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 101.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,810 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,420 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Eudaimonia Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 188.3% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,602,000 after purchasing an additional 26,668 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 99.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,056,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,077,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $299.14. The stock had a trading volume of 684,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,779. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $292.54 and its 200 day moving average is $273.12. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $209.25 and a 52 week high of $302.42. The stock has a market cap of $82.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.64.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Argus increased their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 over the last ninety days. 1.52% of the stock is 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.