Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 725,746 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 24,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.27% of General Dynamics worth $188,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,955,023,000 after purchasing an additional 133,061 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,017,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $887,649,000 after acquiring an additional 17,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,258,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $499,030,000 after purchasing an additional 97,789 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. 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, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.06.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE GD traded up $0.78 on Friday, reaching $288.14. The company had a trading volume of 973,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,386. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $282.18 and a 200-day moving average of $263.05. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.