Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,827 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,890 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $15,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in General Dynamics by 453.3% during the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 9,418 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after buying an additional 7,716 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in General Dynamics by 703.4% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,597,000 after buying an additional 9,235 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 528,769 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 3.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 917,424 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $312,842,000 after buying an additional 32,262 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 225.7% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 8,575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after buying an additional 5,942 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $346.47 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.54. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $268.10 and a 52-week high of $369.70. The firm has a market cap of $93.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GD. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.