Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 33.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,942 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,907 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $692,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 80,565 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $21,228,000 after acquiring an additional 25,144 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 79,450 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $20,934,000 after buying an additional 12,453 shares during the last quarter. Renasant Bank increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 3,258 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in General Dynamics by 990.0% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 66,557 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $17,537,000 after purchasing an additional 60,451 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $281.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,125,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,388,869. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $75.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $275.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.52.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. 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 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Argus set a $295.00 target price on General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Susquehanna upped their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total value of $2,142,281.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics 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.