Metis Global Partners LLC Trims Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 940 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 915,091 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after purchasing an additional 275,947 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,110,000 after acquiring an additional 198,185 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,987 shares of company stock valued at $18,836,700. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Argus upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.53.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.7 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $293.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $283.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.48. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued 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 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

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.