Intrust Bank NA Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Intrust Bank NA sharply cut its General Dynamics stake by 77.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,917 shares and ending with 5,676 shares valued at about $1.91 million.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 versus the $3.67 estimate and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share from $1.50, bringing the annualized payout to $6.36 and the yield to 1.9%.

Intrust Bank NA lowered its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 77.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,676 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 19,917 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,338,169,000 after buying an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,236,900,000 after buying an additional 187,435 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,136,525,000 after buying an additional 863,392 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,770,714 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $603,813,000 after buying an additional 58,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 118.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $567,372,000 after buying an additional 901,679 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9%

GD stock opened at $340.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.10 and a 52 week high of $369.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $342.75 and a 200 day moving average of $346.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Argus lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $371.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $387.40.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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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