General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Position Reduced by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 60,231 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,316 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 537.3% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 9,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 8,398 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $310,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $345,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 71,396 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,539,000 after purchasing an additional 8,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $306.87 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.09. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $214.53 and a 12 month high of $309.97. The stock has a market cap of $84.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G 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). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.