Longview Asset Management LLC Sells 245,592 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Longview Asset Management trimmed its General Dynamics stake by 245,592 shares in the fourth quarter, but still owned about 27.1 million shares worth roughly $9.11 billion, making GD its largest portfolio holding.
• General Dynamics posted better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $4.10 versus $3.67 expected and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share from $1.50, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $387.40.

Longview Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,061,451 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 245,592 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up 96.7% of Longview Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Longview Asset Management LLC owned about 10.01% of General Dynamics worth $9,110,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $346.47 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $340.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.56. The company has a market cap of $93.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.34. 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 fifty-two week low of $268.10 and a fifty-two week high of $369.70.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Weiss Ratings cut shares of General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $371.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.40.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the firm's 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. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics 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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