National Pension Service Buys 150,186 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• National Pension Service boosted its General Dynamics stake by 25.5% in Q4, buying 150,186 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 739,373 shares worth about $248.9 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 beating estimates and revenue of $13.48 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share from $1.50, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $387.40.

National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 739,373 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 150,186 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.27% of General Dynamics worth $248,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% during the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale 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 the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $346.47 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $93.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.34. The firm's fifty day moving average is $340.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.56. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $268.10 and a 52-week high of $369.70.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The company 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%. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $387.40.

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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