LPL Financial LLC Has $201.12 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 597,408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,095 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $201,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 195,604 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,786,786,000 after purchasing an additional 114,647 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,236,900,000 after purchasing an additional 187,435 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in General Dynamics by 35.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $345.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $268.10 and a 52 week high of $369.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $339.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $346.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Argus raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.