Simmons Bank Sells 429 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Simmons Bank lessened its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in General Dynamics by 12.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,615,185,000 after buying an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after purchasing an additional 915,091 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 55.2% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $178,304,000 after purchasing an additional 286,928 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 13.7% in the third 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. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,110,000 after purchasing an additional 198,185 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $1.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.37. 709,808 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,109,033. The company’s 50-day moving average is $283.23 and its 200 day moving average is $264.48. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,589,184. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,987 shares of company stock worth $18,836,700 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.53.

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.