Scotia Capital Inc. Has $2.74 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its stake in General Dynamics by 27.0%, selling 3,710 shares and bringing its total holdings to 10,037 shares valued at approximately $2.736 million.
• General Dynamics recently received upgrades from various brokerages, with Deutsche Bank raising its rating from "hold" to "buy" and increasing the target price from $298 to $342.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.74, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting an 8.9% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

Scotia Capital Inc. lowered its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 27.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,037 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,710 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. TD Securities boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the sale, the director owned 5,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,715,137.23. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at $12,452,165. This represents a 52.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD traded up $1.25 on Friday, hitting $313.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,157,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,263,103. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $294.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $322.50.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

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.