General Dynamics Corporation $GD Holdings Lifted by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 86,070 shares valued at about $28.98 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 beating estimates and revenue of $13.48 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share from $1.50, and analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $387.40 price target.

LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,070 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 21,800 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $28,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the third 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. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $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.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $271,394,759.13. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.40.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $343.20 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $341.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.51. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $92.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $268.10 and a twelve month high of $369.70.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.59 dividend. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

General Dynamics 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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