BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,111 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,955 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $61,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,513 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 7,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in General Dynamics by 3.2% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 103,117 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,160 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 425 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 38.7% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,790 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.56.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE GD traded down $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $281.68. 1,039,502 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,272. The company has a 50 day moving average of $294.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $211.94 and a 52-week high of $302.75. The firm has a market cap of $77.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.