Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Virtu Financial disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in General Dynamics, buying 4,691 shares worth about $1.58 million.
• General Dynamics posted stronger-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $4.10 and revenue of $13.48 billion, both above analyst estimates and up 10.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, equal to a $6.36 annualized payout and a 1.8% yield.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,691 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,579,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 453.3% during the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 9,418 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 7,716 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 114.7% during the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,124 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the last quarter. Jain Global LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 169,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $57,733,000 after purchasing an additional 83,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 155.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 104,773 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $35,273,000 after purchasing an additional 63,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction 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 represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $350.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $94.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 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. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $341.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.20. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $275.49 and a one year high of $369.70.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $388.40.

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.

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