Brandes Investment Partners LP Trims Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Brandes Investment Partners LP decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,728 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,961 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GD. Barclays upped their target price on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, July 29th. BTIG Research started coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $300.13 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $82.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $214.53 and a 52-week high of $309.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

About General Dynamics

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.