General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 68.2%, acquiring an additional 50,739 shares, bringing its total holdings to 125,126 shares valued at approximately $34.1 million.
• General Dynamics reported a Q2 EPS of $3.74, exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue of $13.04 billion, a year-over-year increase of 8.9%.
• The stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with one sell rating, twelve holds, and nine buy ratings, and currently holds an average target price of $315.78.

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 68.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,126 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,739 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $34,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 213.8% during the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,137.23. This trade represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock traded up $2.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $315.96. The company had a trading volume of 128,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,276. The firm has a market cap of $84.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $292.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $322.50.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Securities upped their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.78.

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.