General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Sold by LongView Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• LongView Asset Management trimmed its General Dynamics stake by 2.6% in the third quarter, but the stock remains its largest holding, representing about 10.1% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Phebe N. Novakovic and EVP Mark Lagrand Burns, with total insider sales over the last quarter reaching 119,600 shares valued at about $41.7 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share, or $6.36 annually.

LongView Asset Management LLC reduced its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,307,043 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 727,012 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises approximately 6,493.5% of LongView Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. LongView Asset Management LLC owned approximately 10.10% of General Dynamics worth $9,311,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Joule Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.6% during the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 1,196 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.40.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $343.20 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $268.10 and a one year high of $369.70. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $341.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.48. The company has a market cap of $92.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.34.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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