Confluence Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,424 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,235 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $23,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.6%

GD traded down $4.45 during trading on Monday, hitting $274.04. 346,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,376,621. The firm has a market cap of $73.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GD. UBS Group upped their price target on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities upped their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.