Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 48,460 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has reduced its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 56.6%, selling 48,460 shares in the 1st quarter, leaving it with 37,147 shares valued at approximately $10.1 million.
• Insider trading activity includes EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland selling 33,740 shares for over $10.6 million and CEO Phebe N. Novakovic selling 178,821 shares valued at nearly $50.6 million.
• General Dynamics recently reported quarterly earnings of $3.74 per share, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $13.04 billion, up 8.9% year-over-year.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 56.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,147 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 48,460 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $10,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

General Dynamics Price Performance

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

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.26 EPS. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,452,165. This represents a 52.38% 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 178,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at $217,898,829.91. This trade represents a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 302,110 shares of company stock worth $89,042,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.