Quantbot Technologies LP Has $17.54 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 990.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,451 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises about 0.6% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,537,000 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. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $165,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 134.4% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 120,884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $260.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $279.18. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 trade 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 insiders.

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.