Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,000. General Dynamics makes up approximately 1.0% of Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 118.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $567,372,000 after buying an additional 901,679 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,136,525,000 after buying an additional 863,392 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,238,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,265,349,000 after purchasing an additional 677,665 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 831.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 737,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,405,000 after purchasing an additional 658,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 6,680.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 591,488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $199,130,000 after purchasing an additional 582,765 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at $15,825,134.50. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% 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 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $346.43 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $340.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $268.10 and a one year high of $369.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.40.

About General Dynamics

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.