Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 404 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 13.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,535 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter worth $29,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:GD opened at $304.80 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.09. The company has a market cap of $83.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $214.53 and a 12 month high of $306.51.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.06.

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.