Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,290,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 252,107 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.47% of General Dynamics worth $339,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Purus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,708,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’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 value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $272.99 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $73.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.50.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

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.