Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 195,604 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,039,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 620.0% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price 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. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $271,394,759.13. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $349.13 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.10 and a 12-month high of $369.70. The company has a market capitalization of $94.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $341.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.56.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

About General Dynamics

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.