General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Director Sells $740,160.00 in Stock

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,589,184. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $292.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $80.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $283.23 and its 200 day moving average is $264.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 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 issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Argus raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 133.9% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,336 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 8,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $361,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 325.8% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 5,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Money Management Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $299,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.