Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 37,092 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 121.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,092 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $260.87 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.18.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.