Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 573,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 36,223 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of General Dynamics worth $196,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% during the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $374.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $293.95 and a 1 year high of $380.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $349.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $349.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.15.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.