National Pension Service Purchases 24,728 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

National Pension Service grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 504,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 24,728 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $132,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 195.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 118 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $248.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $67.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $258.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors 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 typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by 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.