Perennial Advisors LLC Has $6.74 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Perennial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up about 1.3% of Perennial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Perennial Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after acquiring an additional 131,268 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,109,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $773,355,000 after acquiring an additional 145,978 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $276.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $272.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Securities lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics 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.