Newport Trust Company LLC Sells 163,165 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Newport Trust Company LLC decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,462,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 163,165 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up 11.3% of Newport Trust Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Newport Trust Company LLC owned 0.06% of General Dynamics worth $4,486,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3,645.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 879.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $96,148,000 after acquiring an additional 305,624 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,216,599,000 after acquiring an additional 293,316 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,347,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $391,119,000 after acquiring an additional 262,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $43,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GD shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of GD opened at $304.77 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $214.53 and a one year high of $309.97. The company has a market cap of $83.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.74.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

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.