General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,402 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. Markel Corp increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 390,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $94,181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.2% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,202 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 294.2% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 791.6% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,275 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 51.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,153 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $288.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $296.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.76.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.