Golden State Equity Partners Cuts Stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Golden State Equity Partners reduced its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 24.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,438 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,449 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners' holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 213.8% in the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus set a $295.00 price target on General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $281.30 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $275.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.63. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $75.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 17.82%. General Dynamics's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the firm's 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 now directly owns 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. This trade represents a 18.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.

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