General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in General Dynamics by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,615,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $239,829,000 after buying an additional 915,091 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $178,304,000 after acquiring an additional 286,928 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in General Dynamics by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,110,000 after acquiring an additional 198,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.53.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $1.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $293.37. 709,808 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,109,033. The company has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.