Sterling Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 97.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 18,435 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Joule Financial LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Steph & Co. grew its position in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2%

General Dynamics stock traded down $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $376.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 35,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,265. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $344.97 and its 200 day moving average is $348.40. 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 1-year low of $293.95 and a 1-year high of $380.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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 net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 40.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $389.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics 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.