Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $4.43 Million in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,428,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $346.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $288.62 and a fifty-two week high of $369.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $341.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $347.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 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 company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered General Dynamics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.40.

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.