JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,647 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,786,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,338,169,000 after acquiring an additional 528,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,039,742,000 after acquiring an additional 195,604 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 5.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,236,900,000 after acquiring an additional 187,435 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 35.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,136,525,000 after acquiring an additional 863,392 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 3.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,770,714 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $603,813,000 after acquiring an additional 58,524 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $340.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $92.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $268.10 and a 12-month high of $369.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $339.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business 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 for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.