General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in General Dynamics by 12.4%, holding 51,981 shares valued at approximately $14.17 million after selling 7,378 shares in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about General Dynamics, with several firms raising their price targets; Deutsche Bank increased its target from $298 to $342, leading a wave of upgrades from multiple analysts.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings of $3.74 per share, surpassing estimates by $0.27, and disclosed a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 12.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,981 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 7,378 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 90,747 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $23,911,000 after purchasing an additional 28,696 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.78.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at $12,452,165. This represents a 52.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 302,110 shares of company stock valued at $89,042,859. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $316.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $85.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $298.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.77. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.

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