National Bank of Canada FI Sells 14,648 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 95,467 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 14,648 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $24,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. TCG Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC now owns 8,076 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,097,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. First National Trust Co increased its position in General Dynamics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 10,831 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $293.37. The company had a trading volume of 715,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,109,033. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $296.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $282.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,987 shares of company stock valued at $18,836,700 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Argus lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $300.53.

General Dynamics Profile

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.