Navellier & Associates Inc. Sells 1,371 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Navellier & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in General Dynamics by 11.6%, selling 1,371 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 10,484 shares valued at $2,853,000.
• CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares at an average price of $283.13, resulting in a decreased ownership of 18.85% and total ownership valued at approximately $217.9 million.
• Analysts have recently increased their price targets for General Dynamics, with Robert W. Baird setting a target at $350.00 and Citigroup at $368.00, while the stock currently has an average target price of $312.17.

Navellier & Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,484 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,371 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,036,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,684 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,314 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. This represents a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.1%

GD traded down $0.33 on Friday, hitting $313.92. 1,218,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,276,632. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock's fifty day moving average is $287.67 and its 200-day moving average is $272.15. The company has a market cap of $84.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 8.13%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 40.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.17.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.