Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 293,316 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises about 0.7% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,216,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gladstone Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $3,869,000. SWP Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,107,000. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,355 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in General Dynamics by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 80,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $20,846,000 after buying an additional 5,405 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $304.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $214.53 and a twelve month high of $306.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $292.48 and its 200 day moving average is $290.09. The company has a market cap of $83.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61.

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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.