Newport Trust Company LLC Has $4.49 Billion Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Newport Trust Company LLC decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,462,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 163,165 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises 11.3% of Newport Trust Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Newport Trust Company LLC owned about 5.64% of General Dynamics worth $4,486,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $304.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $214.53 and a 12 month high of $309.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.74.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.