General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Position Lessened by Northcape Wealth Management LLC

Northcape Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,517 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises about 1.6% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $0.63 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $287.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,423,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,120,588. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $281.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.06.

General Dynamics Company 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.