Kestra Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 10.7% in the first quarter, adding 5,733 shares and bringing its total holdings to 59,284 shares valued at about $20.35 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 topping estimates and revenue of $13.48 billion exceeding forecasts; revenue rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a target price of $391.15.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,284 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $20,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the first quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 12,430 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,266,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 82,142 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $28,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $181,000. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $297,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,060 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $9,974,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $374.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,008,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,890. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $293.95 and a 1-year high of $380.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $350.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $349.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $101.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.66 earnings per share. General Dynamics's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded General Dynamics from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $391.15.

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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