Rathbones Group PLC Has $548,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,079 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after acquiring an additional 706,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,428,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $639,923,000 after purchasing an additional 232,383 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.12.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $272.10 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.17. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $73.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

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.