General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) CEO Sells $50,629,589.73 in Stock

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. This represents a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7%

GD traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $281.15. 984,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,387,781. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $275.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities upped their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus set a $295.00 price target on General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,774,381,000 after purchasing an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 131,268 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,502,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,499,819,000 after purchasing an additional 256,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Dynamics

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.

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