Swiss National Bank Sells 31,140 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank cut its General Dynamics stake by 4.7% in Q4, selling 31,140 shares and leaving it with 626,506 shares worth about $210.9 million.
• General Dynamics posted strong quarterly results, beating estimates with EPS of $4.10 on revenue of $13.48 billion, while revenue rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, and several analysts turned more positive, including upgrades from Jefferies and UBS; the stock also traded up 5.4% in the session described.

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 626,506 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 31,140 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.23% of General Dynamics worth $210,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Joule Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,993,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its stake in General Dynamics by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 1,196 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 5.4%

General Dynamics stock opened at $359.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $97.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $274.88 and a 1 year high of $369.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $340.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.50.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on GD. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $388.40.

General Dynamics 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report).

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.