Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $7.91 Million Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in General Dynamics, buying 23,506 shares valued at about $7.91 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares: EVP Mark Lagrand Burns and CEO Phebe N. Novakovic both sold stock, and insiders sold a total of 119,600 shares worth about $41.65 million over the last 90 days.
• General Dynamics beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarter, and it also raised its dividend to $1.59 per share from $1.50, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target of $387.40.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 23,506 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $7,914,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% 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 32,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.40.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.1%

GD stock opened at $343.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.10 and a 1-year high of $369.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $341.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $346.51. The firm has a market cap of $92.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.