Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 17,056 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,722 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 17,056 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $31,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $728,284,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 915,091 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 543,672 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,733,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $324.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.33.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock traded down $0.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $290.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,079,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,075. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.38. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $214.53 and a 1-year high of $302.75.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,589,184. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,636 shares of company stock valued at $20,209,317 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.