Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its General Dynamics stake by 25.1% in the first quarter, selling 3,613 shares and leaving it with 10,765 shares valued at about $3.67 million.
• General Dynamics posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $4.10 EPS versus the $3.67 consensus and $13.48 billion in revenue, up 10.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $391.15, while the shares recently traded around $370.61.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,765 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,613 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after acquiring an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,323,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,812,058,000 after purchasing an additional 294,456 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,039,742,000 after purchasing an additional 195,604 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,786,786,000 after purchasing an additional 114,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,443,453 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,159,273,000 after purchasing an additional 110,536 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GD. UBS Group upgraded General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $391.15.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:GD opened at $370.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $293.95 and a 1-year high of $380.71. The company's fifty day moving average price is $353.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.78. 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 (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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