General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in General Dynamics by 16.9%, owning 29,479 shares valued at approximately $8,035,000 after acquiring an additional 4,267 shares in the first quarter.
• General Dynamics reported a $3.74 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing an 8.9% year-over-year revenue growth of $13.04 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, to be paid on November 14th.

Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,479 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,267 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics makes up 0.8% of Entropy Technologies LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,774,381,000 after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,502,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,499,819,000 after purchasing an additional 256,687 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in General Dynamics by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $773,355,000 after purchasing an additional 145,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in General Dynamics by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,606,137 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $686,691,000 after purchasing an additional 103,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. One equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.78.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,715,137.23. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,110 shares of company stock valued at $89,042,859 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock traded up $3.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $317.56. 813,487 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,462,850. The company's fifty day moving average is $296.33 and its 200-day moving average is $276.16. 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 market cap of $85.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 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.