General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,607 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 860 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for approximately 1.7% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

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 transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,630,670.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $0.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $284.88. The company had a trading volume of 656,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,308. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $294.14 and its 200 day moving average is $278.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.60. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $211.94 and a twelve month high of $302.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GD. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.56.

About General Dynamics

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.