Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 3,945 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Marks Group Wealth Management reduced its General Dynamics stake by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,945 shares and leaving it with 25,304 shares worth about $8.52 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 beating estimates by $0.43 and revenue of $13.48 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share payable August 7, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $387.40.

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,304 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,945 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises approximately 0.8% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 140.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $240,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $352,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $1,284,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $340.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $339.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.10 and a 52 week high of $369.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (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 company 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 business earned $3.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $387.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report).

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.