Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 8,764 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 8,764 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises approximately 3.3% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $63,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $334.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $343.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.10 and a 1-year high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at $271,394,759.13. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Company 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.