Exeter Financial LLC Has $5.27 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Exeter Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises 2.4% of Exeter Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,048 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,358,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 114.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 3,312 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.5 %

GD traded down $1.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $293.16. 153,354 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,631. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $209.25 and a one year high of $302.75. 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 capitalization of $80.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $294.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 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 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Argus boosted their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.24.

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.