General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,764,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 717,268 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $948,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Joule Financial LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 949 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $393.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $306.03 and a one year high of $395.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $358.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.28. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect General Dynamics to report approximately $3.97 in earnings per share and $13.54 billion in revenue for the second quarter. Expectations for a potential earnings beat are supporting investor sentiment ahead of the release. General Dynamics Q2 earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: The aerospace and defense sector continues to benefit from strong defense demand and improved production activity. General Dynamics is included among companies viewed as capable of meeting or exceeding second-quarter targets, which could reinforce confidence in its backlog and long-term growth prospects. Aerospace and defense earnings targets
• Neutral Sentiment: General Dynamics’ dividend remains an attraction for income-oriented investors, with a reported yield of roughly 1.63%. However, the immediate focus is likely to remain on quarterly earnings, guidance and cash flow rather than the dividend. General Dynamics dividend and earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about rising costs, supply-chain constraints and execution risks. Any margin pressure, production delays or cautious guidance could offset strong demand and trigger profit-taking after the stock’s recent advance. Aerospace and defense earnings risks

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $393.32.

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.