Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 25,135 shares valued at about $8.46 million.
• General Dynamics beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.10 versus estimates of $3.67 and revenue of $13.48 billion versus $12.70 billion expected. Revenue rose 10.3% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 16.62.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share from $1.50, implying an annualized dividend of $6.36 and a yield of 1.8%.

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,135 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,330 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Constant Guidance Financial LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $345,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $111,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 8,398 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,827,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 101.6% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,340 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,848,000 after buying an additional 10,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its position in General Dynamics by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 127,103 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $42,791,000 after buying an additional 50,049 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $346.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.34. The business's 50 day moving average is $340.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.10 and a 12-month high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $1.59 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 40.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $371.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.40.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.

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