Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 120,884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $31,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $265.56 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $258.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.16.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’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 value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Company 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.