Insider Selling: General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Director Sells $740,160.00 in Stock

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $296.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $283.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.67. The stock has a market cap of $81.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,602,000 after buying an additional 26,668 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 99.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $16,077,000. Clough Capital Partners L P bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $72,063,000 after purchasing an additional 119,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.53.

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.