Barclays PLC Has $152.03 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Barclays PLC cut its General Dynamics stake by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 132,702 shares and ending with 451,591 shares valued at about $152 million.
• Analysts remain moderately positive on GD, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.40, though some firms recently trimmed targets or kept more cautious ratings.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 and revenue of $13.48 billion, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, yielding about 1.8% annually.

Barclays PLC lowered its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 451,591 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 132,702 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.17% of General Dynamics worth $152,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 118.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $567,372,000 after buying an additional 901,679 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in General Dynamics by 35.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,136,525,000 after buying an additional 863,392 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,238,561 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,265,349,000 after buying an additional 677,665 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 831.1% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 737,259 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $251,405,000 after buying an additional 658,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 6,680.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 591,488 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $199,130,000 after buying an additional 582,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $388.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:GD opened at $359.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $346.78. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.49 and a 12 month high of $369.70.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.03%.

General Dynamics 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.