General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,758,876 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 257,124 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.10% of General Dynamics worth $1,626,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 28.1% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,376 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 98.6% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 38,555 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,891,000 after purchasing an additional 19,143 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.8% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 8,454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on GD shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.94.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock traded down $5.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $288.22. 973,642 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,089,130. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $293.16 and its 200-day moving average is $281.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $79.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $213.47 and a 52 week high of $302.75.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business 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 for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.54 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 over the last 90 days. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.