Sanders Morris Harris LLC Reduces Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $298.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $232.29 and a 12 month high of $309.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid 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 1.90%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.06.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics 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.