North Dakota State Investment Board Acquires New Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter, buying 8,666 shares valued at about $2.9 million.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 beating estimates and revenue of $13.48 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $387.40.

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,666 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $2,917,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 118.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $567,372,000 after purchasing an additional 901,679 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in General Dynamics by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,238,561 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,265,349,000 after purchasing an additional 677,665 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 831.1% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 737,259 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $251,405,000 after purchasing an additional 658,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 6,680.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 591,488 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $199,130,000 after purchasing an additional 582,765 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,825,134.50. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:GD opened at $343.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $343.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.60. The stock has a market cap of $92.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $268.10 and a 1 year 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GD shares. Wall Street Zen raised General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Argus boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.40.

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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