General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,147 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GD. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after buying an additional 543,672 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 879.9% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after acquiring an additional 305,624 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,733,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 5,398.1% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 168,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $47,589,000 after purchasing an additional 165,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,164,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,081,488,000 after purchasing an additional 147,800 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $304.74 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $295.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $214.53 and a 52 week high of $309.97.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Barclays raised their price target 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. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.