Palisade Asset Management LLC Sells 103 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Palisade Asset Management LLC lessened its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,874 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises 1.3% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $11,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,615,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $239,829,000 after buying an additional 915,091 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 55.2% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $178,304,000 after acquiring an additional 286,928 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,110,000 after acquiring an additional 198,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $292.74. 981,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,102,662. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $80.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $283.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.48. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,184. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,987 shares of company stock valued at $18,836,700 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.53.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.