Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 16,718 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI significantly reduced its stake in General Dynamics, selling 16,718 shares and decreasing its holdings by 65.8% to 8,676 shares valued at $2,365,000.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC, made substantial increases to their positions in General Dynamics during the first quarter, reflecting strong investor interest in the company.
• General Dynamics recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, with a payout ratio of 40.27%.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 65.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 16,718 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 34,578.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,244,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $339,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241,011 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $279,582,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after buying an additional 463,497 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 6,387.2% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 401,236 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $105,722,000 after buying an additional 395,051 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,290,344 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $339,856,000 after buying an additional 252,107 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:GD opened at $315.12 on Thursday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $322.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $293.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.85. The stock has a market cap of $84.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. The business 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 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 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Barclays raised their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total transaction of $2,142,281.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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