Barometer Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 13,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,000. General Dynamics accounts for about 1.9% of Barometer Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after acquiring an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,323,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,812,058,000 after purchasing an additional 294,456 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,039,742,000 after purchasing an additional 195,604 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,786,786,000 after purchasing an additional 114,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,443,453 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,159,273,000 after buying an additional 110,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was 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 three months, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of GD opened at $367.40 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $293.95 and a fifty-two week high of $380.71. The firm has a market cap of $99.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $353.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $351.00. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.