Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 2,606 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,606 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $15,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 118.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $567,372,000 after acquiring an additional 901,679 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,136,525,000 after acquiring an additional 863,392 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 831.1% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 737,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,405,000 after purchasing an additional 658,081 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 6,680.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 591,488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $199,130,000 after buying an additional 582,765 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.9%

GD opened at $373.34 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $292.34 and a twelve month high of $373.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $343.92 and a 200-day moving average of $348.18. The stock has a market cap of $100.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.