General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank cut its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,702 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,128 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $728,284,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 12.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,276 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after purchasing an additional 915,091 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after purchasing an additional 275,947 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in General Dynamics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,110,000 after purchasing an additional 198,185 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total transaction of $740,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,589,184. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total transaction of $740,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,589,184. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.1 %

GD stock traded up $3.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $299.84. The stock had a trading volume of 363,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,721. The firm has a market cap of $82.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.67. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $202.35 and a 12-month high of $301.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $288.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.63.

About General Dynamics

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.