General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Holdings Reduced by Aristotle Capital Management LLC

Aristotle Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,971,437 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 7,680 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned 1.08% of General Dynamics worth $782,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% in the fourth 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. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 131,268 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,109,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,606,137 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $686,691,000 after acquiring an additional 103,870 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $269.58. 861,631 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,363,679. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $267.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.45. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. General Dynamics's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. 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 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.