Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 404 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Plato Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,535 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 404 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $728,284,000. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter worth $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $145,048,000 after buying an additional 543,672 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in General Dynamics by 879.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after buying an additional 305,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $43,733,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $304.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $214.53 and a fifty-two week high of $306.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $292.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.09. The firm has a market cap of $83.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.