D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & Co. increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 10.5%, owning 86,791 shares valued at approximately $25.3 million after acquiring an additional 8,218 shares in the second quarter.
• CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 129,090 shares of General Dynamics stock for $40.5 million, reducing her holdings by 14.36%, while other insiders have collectively sold 275,020 shares worth $86.4 million over the past 90 days.
• General Dynamics has seen analysts raise their target price to as high as $400, with an average target price of $327.44, reflecting a positive outlook towards the company's stock.

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,791 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,218 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $25,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the second quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,266 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 1.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 10,957 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 3.5% during the second quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the second quarter valued at $248,000. Finally, WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the second quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 21,574 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,292,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 129,090 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.57, for a total transaction of $40,478,751.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at $241,325,666.99. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William A. Moss sold 17,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.40, for a total transaction of $5,600,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 16,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,260,782.80. This trade represents a 51.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 275,020 shares of company stock worth $86,414,503. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $327.44.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $340.73 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $347.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.15. The company has a market cap of $91.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.47.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 40.27%.

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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