Ascent Group LLC Cuts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ascent Group LLC decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $728,284,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 915,091 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3,645.4% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after buying an additional 543,672 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 879.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after acquiring an additional 305,624 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total value of $6,206,592.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,624 shares in the company, valued at $4,901,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total transaction of $6,206,592.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,624 shares in the company, valued at $4,901,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,069 shares of company stock worth $16,295,101 over the last 90 days. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:GD traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $289.49. 1,078,795 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,072,839. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $214.53 and a twelve month high of $302.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $292.65 and a 200 day moving average of $282.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Citigroup lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Argus lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.33.

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.