QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management boosted its position in General Dynamics by 302.3% in Q4, adding 38,655 shares to hold 51,444 shares worth about $17.32 million.
• Operational beat and shareholder return: General Dynamics reported $4.10 EPS vs. $3.67 expected and $13.48B revenue (up 10.3% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 ($6.36 annualized, ~1.8% yield).
• Insiders have been selling recently—CEO and an EVP sold a combined ~36,737 shares on March 11, and insiders disposed of 51,260 shares (~$18.13M) in the past 90 days, while insiders still own about 1.4% of the stock.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 302.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,444 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 38,655 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $348.96 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $345.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.34. The stock has a market cap of $94.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $267.39 and a 52 week high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 40.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on GD. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $389.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $420.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,825,134.50. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 51,260 shares of company stock valued at $18,133,971 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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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