MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $18.07 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $18,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 11,714 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $404,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,774,381,000 after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,542,745 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $406,498,000 after acquiring an additional 8,696 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 861,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $227,076,000 after acquiring an additional 40,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $275.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $261.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.88. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.47.

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.