Perennial Advisors LLC Decreases Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Perennial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for 1.5% of Perennial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Perennial Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,947 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,285,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 68,678 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $19,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 2,151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $299.53. The stock had a trading volume of 751,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,037,808. The business’s 50 day moving average is $293.21 and its 200-day moving average is $275.94. The company has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.64. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $209.25 and a 52 week high of $302.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.63.

General Dynamics Profile

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.