Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Franklin Resources cut its stake in General Dynamics by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 145,504 shares and ending with about 1.63 million shares valued at roughly $547.1 million.
• General Dynamics reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 versus the $3.67 estimate and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, payable on August 7, implying a $6.36 annualized dividend yield of about 1.9%.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,625,210 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 145,504 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.60% of General Dynamics worth $547,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 620.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE GD opened at $340.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. The company's 50 day moving average price is $339.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.33. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $268.10 and a one year high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.03%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised their price target on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.40.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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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