Aigen Investment Management LP Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP sold 16,719 shares of General Dynamics, reducing its stake by 89.2%, leaving it with only 2,025 shares valued at approximately $552,000.
• General Dynamics recently reported earnings of $3.74 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share.
• Major institutional investors have been active around General Dynamics, with several increasing their stakes significantly, while 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aigen Investment Management LP lessened its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 89.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 16,719 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,161,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% during the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 917 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% during the first quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.6% during the first quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 2,421 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.7% during the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total value of $2,142,281.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 302,110 shares of company stock valued at $89,042,859. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $313.70. 900,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,224,887. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $322.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $298.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.12.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 8.13%. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Argus set a $295.00 price target on General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.78.

General Dynamics 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.