General Dynamics Corporation $GD Stake Raised by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310,063 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $106,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Joule Financial LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $365.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $293.95 and a one year high of $380.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $351.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $350.18.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics 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.