General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,999 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $15,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 213.8% in the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,452,165. This represents a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total value of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,483 shares in the company, valued at $1,715,137.23. This trade represents a 50.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GD. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.78.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $310.45. 891,100 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,490,267. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $290.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $83.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 8.13%. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

General Dynamics 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.