Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 7,613 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation by 9.8%, bringing their total shares to 85,556, valued at approximately $23.26 million.
• General Dynamics announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share with an ex-dividend date of October 10th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.
• The stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with nine buy ratings, one sell rating, and twelve hold ratings, resulting in a consensus price target of $315.78.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,556 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,613 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $23,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GD. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,161,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% during the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 917 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% during the first quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services raised its stake in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the first quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 2,421 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.7% in the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,642,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.7%

GD stock traded down $2.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $313.70. 900,532 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,455,223. The business's 50 day moving average price is $298.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $13.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on GD shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.78.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total value of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,715,137.23. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 33,740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.20, for a total transaction of $10,634,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $14,244,518.40. This represents a 42.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 302,110 shares of company stock worth $89,042,859. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.