HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 49,734 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation by 20.3%, now owning 194,905 shares valued at approximately $53.1 million.
• General Dynamics reported $3.74 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.27 and achieving a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.9%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 194,905 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 49,734 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of General Dynamics worth $53,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 213.8% in the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 33,740 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.20, for a total transaction of $10,634,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,244,518.40. This trade represents a 42.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 302,110 shares of company stock valued at $89,042,859 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $314.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 260,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,447,308. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $298.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.44. The firm has a market cap of $84.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.27%.

General Dynamics 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.