Cetera Investment Advisers Has $30.45 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 7.2%, owning 111,710 shares worth approximately $30.45 million after acquiring an additional 7,537 shares in the first quarter.
• CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the company for over $50 million, reducing her ownership by nearly 19% but still retaining about 769,607 shares valued at around $218 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on General Dynamics, with price targets ranging from $236.00 to $350.00, as the stock carries an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.17.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,710 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,537 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in General Dynamics were worth $30,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,138 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 4,855 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,139 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,935,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 6,248.3% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 3,682 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 3,624 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:GD traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $313.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 150,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $322.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $288.97 and its 200-day moving average is $272.97. The company has a market cap of $84.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.46.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 40.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at $12,452,165. This trade represents a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 268,370 shares of company stock worth $78,408,011 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.78.

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.