R Squared Ltd Takes Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake of 3,060 shares in General Dynamics Corporation, valued at approximately $834,000, making it the 13th largest position in their portfolio.
• General Dynamics reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.74, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue reaching $13.04 billion, up 8.9% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50, with a dividend yield of 1.9%, which will be paid to investors of record on August 8th.

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,060 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $834,000. General Dynamics makes up about 0.9% of R Squared Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,774,381,000 after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in General Dynamics by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $773,355,000 after purchasing an additional 145,978 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,606,137 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $686,691,000 after purchasing an additional 103,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,428,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $639,923,000 after purchasing an additional 232,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $310.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $83.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 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 price is $291.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus set a $295.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total value of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,715,137.23. This trade represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,142,281.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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