Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 185,976 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 63.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 107,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 185,976 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $36,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $387,000. TSG Advice Partners LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Center for Wealth Management Advisory purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the first quarter worth about $1,433,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,182 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on GD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.40.

General Dynamics Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE GD opened at $363.11 on Thursday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $290.30 and a 52 week high of $369.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $98.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $342.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.92.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.