Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its General Dynamics stake by 1.8% in the first quarter, ending with 1,579,959 shares worth about $542.3 million.
• Insider selling picked up, including large sales by EVP Mark Lagrand Burns and Director Mark Malcolm; insiders sold 78,190 shares over the last three months.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on GD, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $391.15, while the company also beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,579,959 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 28,249 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.58% of General Dynamics worth $542,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 1,725.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $391.15.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $370.61 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $293.95 and a 12 month high of $380.71. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $353.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.78. The company has a market cap of $100.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

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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