Equity Investment Corp Grows Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Equity Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,484 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 53,909 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp owned 0.11% of General Dynamics worth $83,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 213.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.4%

GD stock traded down $1.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $298.90. The company had a trading volume of 350,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,397,680. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $283.92 and a 200-day moving average of $270.29. The stock has a market cap of $80.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.46.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. TD Securities increased their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.53.

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.