Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 338,287 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 14,699 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $95,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.5% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,903 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 23,949 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded up $6.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $291.61. 1,124,846 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,054,686. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $212.58 and a 52 week high of $302.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $293.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for 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%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.94.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. 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 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. 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 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company 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.