General Dynamics Corporation $GD Holdings Lowered by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 684,029 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 299,833 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.25% of General Dynamics worth $234,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1,725.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $368.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $99.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $352.73 and a 200-day moving average of $350.49. 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 one year low of $293.95 and a one year high of $380.71.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 40.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GD. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Two research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.15.

About General Dynamics

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.