Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 65% in the fourth quarter, adding 50,049 shares to bring its total to 127,103 shares worth about $42.8 million.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 versus estimates of $3.67 and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $1.59 per share quarterly, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $387.40.

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,103 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,049 shares during the period. General Dynamics accounts for about 2.3% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas' holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas' holdings in General Dynamics were worth $42,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 1,624 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,039,742,000 after purchasing an additional 195,604 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Expressive Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $605,000. Finally, TrustBank acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Weiss Ratings cut General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.40.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $342.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business's 50 day moving average is $341.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.54. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.10 and a 12-month high of $369.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at $271,394,759.13. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.