General Dynamics Corporation $GD Holdings Decreased by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC reduced its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 66.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,402 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% during the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $363.11 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $347.92. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $290.30 and a 12-month high of $369.70. The stock has a market cap of $98.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period last year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. DA Davidson cut their price target on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.