Aberdeen Group plc Grows Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in General Dynamics by 20.6% during the second quarter, now owning approximately $10.7 million in shares.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for General Dynamics, with JPMorgan Chase setting a new target of $345 and Morgan Stanley raising it to $360.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% set to be paid on November 14th.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 20.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,729 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,276 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $10,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 783.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 106 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at $33,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on General Dynamics from $328.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $327.44.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE GD opened at $332.21 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $326.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $347.37. The company has a market capitalization of $89.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.47.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 8.13%.The firm had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. General Dynamics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.050-15.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William A. Moss sold 17,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.40, for a total transaction of $5,600,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,260,782.80. This trade represents a 51.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 8,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.18, for a total value of $2,617,617.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,328,685.24. This represents a 26.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 275,020 shares of company stock valued at $86,414,503 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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