Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys 5,633 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 497.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,766 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,633 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 917 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.2% in the first quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the first quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 2,421 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% during the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock traded down $0.33 on Friday, reaching $313.92. 1,218,137 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,276,632. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.23. The stock has a market cap of $84.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $322.50.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 40.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $217,898,829.91. This trade represents a 18.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Wolfe Research raised General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.17.

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.