Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Raises Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 5.0%, holding 20,524 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• General Dynamics reported $3.74 earnings per share for the latest quarter, beating estimates and reflecting an 8.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with a payout ratio of 40.27%, which contributes to an annualized dividend yield of 1.91%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,524 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 213.8% during the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $311.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 413,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,485,533. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $322.50. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $289.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.24.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GD. Wolfe Research upgraded General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total value of $2,142,281.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $215,828,587.08. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 268,370 shares of company stock worth $78,408,011. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.