General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Paradiem LLC

Paradiem LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 38.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up 2.3% of Paradiem LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $178,304,000 after acquiring an additional 286,928 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,110,000 after acquiring an additional 198,185 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $293.43.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $284.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,244,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,567. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $280.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.