Nuveen LLC Invests $272.46 Million in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired approximately $272 million worth of shares in General Dynamics Corporation, totaling 999,574 shares and representing around 0.37% of the company's stock.
• General Dynamics reported $3.74 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues increasing 8.9% year-over-year to $13.04 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 40.27%.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 999,574 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $272,464,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.37% of General Dynamics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in General Dynamics by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,358 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.6% in the first quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,013 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,912,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 29,479 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,035,000 after acquiring an additional 4,267 shares during the period. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $149,000. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 4,777 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,715,137.23. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 302,110 shares of company stock valued at $89,042,859. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:GD traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $316.10. 843,104 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,458,822. The company has a market capitalization of $85.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $322.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $297.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.45.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.27%.

General Dynamics Profile

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.