Ethic Inc. Buys 1,393 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 19.7%, owning a total of 8,481 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for General Dynamics, with estimates ranging from $290 to $368 following positive earnings results.
• Insider transactions include significant sales from company executives, with one director selling 5,490 shares and an EVP selling 33,740 shares, reflecting decreases in their ownership stakes.

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,481 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 4.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,502,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,499,819,000 after buying an additional 256,687 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in General Dynamics by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $773,355,000 after buying an additional 145,978 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,606,137 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $686,691,000 after buying an additional 103,870 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,582,388 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $431,327,000 after buying an additional 5,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,542,745 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $406,498,000 after buying an additional 8,696 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $298.00 to $342.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the sale, the director owned 5,483 shares in the company, valued at $1,715,137.23. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 33,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.20, for a total transaction of $10,634,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,244,518.40. The trade was a 42.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 448,900 shares of company stock valued at $135,121,890. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $1.1580 during trading on Thursday, reaching $316.3220. 717,450 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,438,005. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $301.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.37. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $322.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $85.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.48.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. General Dynamics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.050-15.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

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.