General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Purchased by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Key Points

• Patriot Financial Group increased its stake in General Dynamics by 118.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 15,706 shares valued at about $5.39 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $388.40, though some analysts trimmed targets and Goldman Sachs still rates it a sell.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $4.10 and revenue of $13.48 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share payable August 7.

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 118.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 8,526 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,323,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,812,058,000 after purchasing an additional 294,456 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,039,742,000 after buying an additional 195,604 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,786,786,000 after buying an additional 114,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,236,900,000 after buying an additional 187,435 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $388.40.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:GD opened at $346.30 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $288.62 and a 12-month high of $369.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $347.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.