General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 53.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 344,722 shares and bringing its total to 983,862 shares worth about $331.3 million.
• Several analysts recently turned more positive on GD, including UBS and Wall Street Zen, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $388.40.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected Q1 results with EPS of $4.10 and revenue of $13.48 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share to be paid August 7.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 983,862 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 344,722 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.36% of General Dynamics worth $331,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.40.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $373.34 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $292.34 and a 12 month high of $373.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.34. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $343.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $348.18. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 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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