General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 70.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,009 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,873 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 99.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,077,000. Moreno Evelyn V increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 27,310 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $72,063,000 after acquiring an additional 119,264 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.63.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD traded up $3.86 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $284.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,769,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,098. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $280.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.22. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 47.25%.

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.