Cullen Investment Group LTD. Has $2.05 Million Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,065 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 390 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $298.00 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $209.25 and a 1 year high of $302.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.64.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total value of $6,206,592.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,901,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total transaction of $6,206,592.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,901,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.