Trajan Wealth LLC Raises Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 44,386 shares worth about $14.94 million.
• General Dynamics posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.10 and revenue of $13.48 billion, both above analyst estimates, while revenue rose 10.3% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 per share from $1.50, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $387.40.

Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,386 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 3,015 shares during the quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Joule Financial LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 1,196 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $339.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.34. The business's 50-day moving average is $342.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.54. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $268.10 and a 1 year high of $369.70.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.40.

About General Dynamics

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.