General Dynamics Corporation $GD Stock Position Raised by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 983,862 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 344,722 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $331,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 528,769 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 114.7% in the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,124 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Jain Global LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 169,305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,733,000 after purchasing an additional 83,692 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 155.6% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 104,773 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,273,000 after purchasing an additional 63,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $1,103,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research 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 MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.40.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $373.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $343.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $292.34 and a 1 year high of $373.60. The stock has a market cap of $100.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly 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. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

General Dynamics 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.