Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 81,977 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 209.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 81,977 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for approximately 0.9% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $40,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,323,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,812,058,000 after purchasing an additional 294,456 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,039,742,000 after purchasing an additional 195,604 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,786,786,000 after purchasing an additional 114,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,236,900,000 after purchasing an additional 187,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Argus increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $350.39 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $341.10 and a 200 day moving average of $347.17. The stock has a market cap of $94.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.49 and a 52-week high of $369.70.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

General Dynamics Company 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.