Nicholas Wealth LLC. Invests $1.08 Million in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Nicholas Wealth LLC opened a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter, buying 3,145 shares valued at about $1.08 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with major firms like Vanguard, State Street, Geode, and JPMorgan all increasing their stakes; institutions now own about 86.14% of the stock.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $4.10 per share on revenue of $13.48 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share payable August 7.

Nicholas Wealth LLC. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,145 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,079,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after buying an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,323,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,812,058,000 after acquiring an additional 294,456 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 195,604 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,786,786,000 after acquiring an additional 114,647 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,236,900,000 after acquiring an additional 187,435 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on GD. Weiss Ratings lowered General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $388.40.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $346.30 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $347.50. The stock has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $288.62 and a 12 month 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.03%.

About General Dynamics

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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