General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Acquired by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group increased its General Dynamics stake by 58.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 12,393 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.14% of GD stock.
• General Dynamics reported quarterly earnings of $4.24 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.96, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $14.09 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, equivalent to a 1.8% yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $402.32, although insiders—including CEO Phebe Novakovic—sold more than 102,000 shares worth about $38.6 million over the past three months.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,393 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $6,840,590,000. State Street Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,811,099 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,183,964,000 after acquiring an additional 374,682 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter valued at $2,603,527,000. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in General Dynamics by 806.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,661,702 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $588,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in General Dynamics by 1.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,579,959 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $542,274,000 after acquiring an additional 28,249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of GD stock opened at $349.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $353.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $355.02. The company has a market cap of $94.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.33. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $306.77 and a 1 year high of $400.00.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.28. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $14.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $420.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $435.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $402.32.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 51,568 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.58, for a total value of $19,728,885.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,231,119.06. This trade represents a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert K. Steel sold 7,440 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.05, for a total value of $2,574,612.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,071,370.80. This trade represents a 70.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 102,188 shares of company stock valued at $38,627,265. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation NYSE: GD is a global aerospace and defense company that develops, manufactures and supports products and services for government and commercial customers. Its operations serve the U.S. government, allied nations and other customers worldwide, with a significant focus on national security, military modernization and mission support.

The company operates through four primary business areas. Aerospace provides Gulfstream business jets and related aircraft services through Gulfstream Aerospace, as well as aircraft management, charter, maintenance and completions services through Jet Aviation.

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