Acadian Asset Management LLC Acquires 5,698 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 239.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,698 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $109,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $304.83 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $214.53 and a one year high of $306.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $83.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $292.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.