Equity Investment Corp Sells 9,863 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Equity Investment Corp reduced its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 281,703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 9,863 shares during the quarter. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $94,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Joule Financial LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its position in General Dynamics by 2.6% during the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 1,196 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its position in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.40.

General Dynamics Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $359.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $274.88 and a 52-week high of $369.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $340.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.03%.

General Dynamics Company 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.