Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 10,863 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,279 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 10,863 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $33,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank grew its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $656,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $74,000. FMR LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $269,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $269.60 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $72.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $258.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.22.

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

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.