Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 1,904 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,047 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1858 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 1.2% in the first quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Services grew its position in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 2,421 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total value of $2,142,281.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.8%

GD stock traded up $2.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $294.70. The stock had a trading volume of 238,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,391,491. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.66. The firm has a market cap of $79.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Susquehanna upped 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, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $290.24.

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.