Barclays PLC Has $284.82 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.34% of General Dynamics worth $284,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 588,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $177,881,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on GD shares. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.88.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $269.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $269.27 and a 200 day moving average of $287.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $257.26 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $74.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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.