Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 31.3%, holding 5,598 shares valued at approximately $1.53 million.
• General Dynamics reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.74, exceeding analyst expectations, and achieved revenues of $13.04 billion, an increase of 8.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.92%, with a payout ratio of 40.27%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,598 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 213.8% in the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,452,165. This trade represents a 52.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $217,898,829.91. This represents a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock traded down $1.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $310.45. The company had a trading volume of 891,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,841. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.88. The company has a market cap of $83.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.78.

About General Dynamics

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.