General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) is Exeter Financial LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Exeter Financial LLC decreased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,955,023,000 after acquiring an additional 133,061 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,164,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,081,488,000 after buying an additional 147,800 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $728,284,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $592,764,000 after buying an additional 24,395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was 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 owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was 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 owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total value of $6,206,592.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 16,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,901,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $1.37 on Thursday, hitting $293.16. 153,354 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,631. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $294.10 and its 200 day moving average is $277.37. The company has a market capitalization of $80.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.64. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $209.25 and a 1-year high of $302.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Barclays boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.