Nuveen LLC Takes Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 999,574 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,464,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.37% of General Dynamics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,774,381,000 after buying an additional 463,497 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,502,305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,499,819,000 after purchasing an additional 256,687 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $773,355,000 after purchasing an additional 145,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,606,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $686,691,000 after purchasing an additional 103,870 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4%

General Dynamics stock opened at $313.98 on Monday. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $322.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.48.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 8.13%. The business had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,137.23. The trade was a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 268,370 shares of company stock worth $78,408,011. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of General Dynamics from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.78.

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.