Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 553 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 553 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.5 %

GD stock opened at $302.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $214.53 and a 12 month high of $309.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $293.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.64. 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 (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio 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.