Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,344 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the first quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,182 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 26.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. CLG LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 8.4% in the first quarter. CLG LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Resource Group raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 7.1% in the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 19,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,234,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GD. Citigroup reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.00.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 769,607 shares in the company, valued at $217,898,829.91. This trade represents a 18.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $278.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.45. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.