General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Position Decreased by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,053 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $12,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.4% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 35,861 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $9,775,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.0% in the first quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 111.6% during the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69,457 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $18,933,000 after acquiring an additional 36,627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. This represents a 18.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 target price on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus set a $295.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $294.47.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE GD traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $302.20. 952,540 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,399,583. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $280.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.04.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.