General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management cut its General Dynamics stake by 60.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,154 shares and leaving it with 5,316 shares valued at about $1.79 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $4.10 topping estimates and revenue of $13.48 billion beating expectations; revenue also rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $387.40.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 60.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 8,154 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Argus raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.40.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $343.20 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $92.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $268.10 and a 52-week high of $369.70.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion during 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 40.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,825,134.50. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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