Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 35,446 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its General Dynamics stake by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,446 shares and leaving it with 835,606 shares valued at about $281.3 million.
• General Dynamics reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.10 versus the $3.67 estimate and revenue of $13.48 billion versus $12.70 billion expected, with revenue up 10.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, payable August 7, which works out to an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 835,606 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 35,446 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.31% of General Dynamics worth $281,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Joule Financial LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.6% in the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 1,196 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 65.2% in 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 period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $350.39 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.49 and a 12 month high of $369.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion for 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 revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. UBS Group upgraded General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.40.

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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