Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Purchases 4,593 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 2.9%, acquiring an additional 4,593 shares, resulting in a total holding of 164,641 shares valued at approximately $44.88 million.
• Institutional investors own 86.14% of General Dynamics, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 40.27%.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,641 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,593 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of General Dynamics worth $44,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 7.3% during the first quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $135,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 17.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 532,816 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $145,235,000 after buying an additional 77,356 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in General Dynamics by 14.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 113,902 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,710,000 after buying an additional 14,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 1.4% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 141,860 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $38,668,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.4%

GD traded down $1.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $321.59. 386,028 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,392,655. The company's fifty day moving average price is $311.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $326.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm had revenue of $13.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 8,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.18, for a total transaction of $2,617,617.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,328,685.24. The trade was a 26.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at $217,898,829.91. This trade represents a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 458,260 shares of company stock worth $138,125,545 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.78.

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.