Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 877,941 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of General Dynamics worth $239,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $49,935,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 211.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 99,740 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,079,000 after buying an additional 67,712 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,020 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,437,000 after buying an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.47.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $3.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $303.44. 474,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,500,753. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $280.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $217,898,829.91. This trade represents a 18.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.