Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 116,219 shares valued at about $39.1 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 beating estimates and revenue of $13.48 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 10.3% year over year.
• Analysts are mixed but broadly constructive on the stock: the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $387.40, while the shares recently traded around $341.46.

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,219 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 13,614 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $39,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Joule Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.6% in the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 1,196 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $371.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.40.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE GD opened at $341.46 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $339.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.36. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.10 and a 52 week high of $369.70. 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 cap of $92.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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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