Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its General Dynamics stake by 510.2% in Q1, buying 4,342 additional shares and bringing its total position to 5,193 shares worth about $1.78 million.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $4.10 versus the $3.67 estimate and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with multiple upgrades pushing the stock to a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.40.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 510.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,193 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 4,342 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises approximately 1.6% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 1,169 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 27.0% during the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 30,775 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,563,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.7% in the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 3,654 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,949 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,042,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.40.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE GD opened at $373.34 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $292.34 and a 52 week high of $373.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $344.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $100.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About General Dynamics

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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