Arax Advisory Partners Has $1.61 Million Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Arax Advisory Partners sharply reduced its stake in General Dynamics, cutting holdings by 90.4% in the fourth quarter to 4,779 shares valued at about $1.61 million.
• General Dynamics posted a better-than-expected quarter, with EPS of $4.10 versus $3.67 expected and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, payable August 7, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Arax Advisory Partners lessened its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 90.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,779 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 45,088 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners' holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $429,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 387,405 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $130,424,000 after buying an additional 59,967 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $179,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,794 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,644,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 109.8% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,818 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,979,000 after buying an additional 6,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $359.08 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $340.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.78. The firm has a market cap of $97.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.49 and a 52-week high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GD. Argus increased their price target on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group raised General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $388.40.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.

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