Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,934 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,006 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $290.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.1%

GD stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $294.91. The company had a trading volume of 978,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,395,751. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $278.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.15. The stock has a market cap of $79.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.46.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

About General Dynamics

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.