Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 590,898 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $155,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 5.7% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,772 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $3,022,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $265.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued 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%.

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

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.