General Dynamics Corporation $GD Stock Holdings Trimmed by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 645,133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 90,024 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $217,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 56,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $19,157,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 739,373 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $248,917,000 after buying an additional 150,186 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 14,443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,862,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 45,827 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,428,000 after buying an additional 4,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,135 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,462,000 after buying an additional 6,330 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $346.47 on Friday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $268.10 and a 1-year high of $369.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $93.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $340.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.56.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at $15,825,134.50. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. DA Davidson cut their target price on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus upped their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.40.

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.