Boston Partners Grows Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.9% during the first quarter, owning approximately 1,296,497 shares worth around $353.56 million.
• General Dynamics reported earnings per share of $3.74, exceeding estimates by $0.27, and achieved revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with a yield of 1.9%, to be paid on November 14th to shareholders of record on October 10th.

Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,296,497 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 94,537 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.48% of General Dynamics worth $353,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 213.8% in the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price objective on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.78.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of GD stock traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $313.70. 900,532 shares of the company's stock 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. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $298.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.12. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $322.50. The stock has a market cap of $84.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.48.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics 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 value of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,110 shares of company stock valued at $89,042,859. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

About General Dynamics

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.