General Dynamics Corporation $GD Holdings Lowered by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its stake by 53.7% in General Dynamics during Q4, selling 4,575 shares and ending the quarter with 3,943 shares worth about $1.33 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, offloading 51,260 shares worth roughly $18.13 million in the last 90 days — including CEO Phebe Novakovic's sale of 32,918 shares ($11.66M) and VP Mark Rayha's sale of 4,370 shares ($1.52M); insiders now own 1.40% of the stock.
• Operational results and shareholder payout rose: General Dynamics beat estimates with $4.10 EPS (vs. $3.67) and $13.48B revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 (annualized $6.36, ~1.8% yield).

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 53.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,943 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,575 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,236,900,000 after purchasing an additional 187,435 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,770,714 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $603,813,000 after purchasing an additional 58,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 118.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $567,372,000 after purchasing an additional 901,679 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Mark Rayha sold 4,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.79, for a total transaction of $1,524,212.30. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,767,997.44. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at $271,394,759.13. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,260 shares of company stock valued at $18,133,971. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $388.70.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $347.54 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $345.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.57. The company has a market cap of $93.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $267.39 and a fifty-two week high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.56 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

About General Dynamics

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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