General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its General Dynamics stake by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 287,549 shares and ending with 1.24 million shares valued at about $416.1 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on GD, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $387.40, though several firms recently trimmed their targets.
• General Dynamics reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $4.10 EPS on $13.48 billion in revenue, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,235,954 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 287,549 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.46% of General Dynamics worth $416,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 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 increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at $15,825,134.50. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $341.93 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $268.10 and a 1 year high of $369.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $340.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.30. The firm has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38.

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 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 analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

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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