General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stake Lessened by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,205 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $728,284,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $145,048,000 after acquiring an additional 543,672 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $43,733,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $284.87 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.60. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $211.94 and a one year high of $302.75.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 6,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.58, for a total value of $1,784,225.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 76,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,605,624.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.