South Dakota Investment Council Sells 4,600 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,410 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,600 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in General Dynamics by 12.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,615,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,276 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $239,829,000 after purchasing an additional 915,091 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in General Dynamics by 55.2% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $178,304,000 after purchasing an additional 286,928 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after purchasing an additional 275,947 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in General Dynamics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,110,000 after purchasing an additional 198,185 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $1.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $292.70. 1,132,059 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,066,708. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $296.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $280.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.08.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 47.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.80.

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.