Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 573,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 36,223 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $196,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 650.0% during the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $374.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $101.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $293.95 and a 12-month high of $380.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $349.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.46. 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 (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.03%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised General Dynamics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $391.15.

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.