General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos Sells 13,567 Shares

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $287.16 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $281.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,955,023,000 after purchasing an additional 133,061 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,164,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,081,488,000 after purchasing an additional 147,800 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $728,284,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after purchasing an additional 275,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Argus raised their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays raised their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.06.

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.