General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Sold by Credit Agricole S A

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A has reduced its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 54.5%, now holding 65,592 shares valued at approximately $17,879,000.
• In recent insider trading, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares for about $13.7 million, while VP William A. Moss sold 17,700 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million, both indicating significant decreases in their positions.
• General Dynamics' recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.74, surpassing estimates, and the company has set a dividend of $1.50 per share to be paid in November.

Credit Agricole S A reduced its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 54.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,592 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 78,621 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 213.8% during the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock traded up $2.8260 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $319.3560. 917,215 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,006,254. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $302.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $322.50. The firm has a market cap of $85.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.48.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total value of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,715,137.23. This trade represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 448,900 shares of company stock valued at $135,121,890. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price 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. Barclays upped their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.78.

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.