Rakuten Securities Inc. Increases Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 170.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 130 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $260.87 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $257.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm 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.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.