General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 285,791 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 6,396 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of General Dynamics worth $77,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 213.8% in the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total value of $2,142,281.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.00.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $4.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $299.41. 647,342 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,392,858. The company has a market capitalization of $80.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $279.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 17.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

General Dynamics Company 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.