General Dynamics Corporation $GD Stake Reduced by Newport Trust Company LLC

Newport Trust Company LLC lowered its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,725,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 233,289 shares during the period. General Dynamics accounts for approximately 11.1% of Newport Trust Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Newport Trust Company LLC owned 0.05% of General Dynamics worth $4,620,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of GD stock opened at $338.85 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $91.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.50. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.10 and a 1-year high of $369.70.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.40.

General Dynamics Company 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.