SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lessened its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 42.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 17,866 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Herbst Group LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Herbst Group LLC now owns 12,350 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Weybosset Research & Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Weybosset Research & Management LLC now owns 46,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,105,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 33,230 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.96, for a total value of $7,575,110.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 778,092 shares in the company, valued at $177,373,852.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.83, for a total value of $1,467,895.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 113,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,590,829.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 33,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.96, for a total value of $7,575,110.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 778,092 shares in the company, valued at $177,373,852.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,230 shares of company stock worth $12,086,716 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $258.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com started coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on General Dynamics from $248.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $283.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.23.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD traded down $1.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $222.55. 372,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,166,161. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $221.77 and its 200-day moving average is $219.13. The stock has a market cap of $60.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.90. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $256.86.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The aerospace company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.45 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 8.24%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.75 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.35%.

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.