State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 34.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,563 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 44,868 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $24,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $728,284,000. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after purchasing an additional 543,672 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in General Dynamics by 879.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $96,148,000 after purchasing an additional 305,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $43,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $300.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $292.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $214.53 and a 1 year high of $306.51.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BTIG Research began coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.06.

General Dynamics Company 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.