Twin Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,428,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $639,923,000 after buying an additional 232,383 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,377,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $362,913,000 after acquiring an additional 20,391 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 4,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $249.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $67.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $258.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.38 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.