General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 2.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 81,613 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,895 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $22,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 1858 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. LVZ Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 2,594 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 18,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,083,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 17,222 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,694,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Argus set a $295.00 target price on General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $282.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.52. The stock has a market cap of $75.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total transaction of $2,142,281.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About General Dynamics

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.