General Dynamics Corporation $GD Shares Purchased by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 74.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,624 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,758 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 1,725.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $29,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 79.6% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting General Dynamics

Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. General Dynamics reported $4.24 in diluted EPS versus the $3.96 analyst consensus and revenue of approximately $14.1 billion versus expectations of $13.5 billion. Revenue rose 8.1% year over year, while operating earnings increased 11.9% and operating margin expanded to 10.4%. General Dynamics Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Demand and future revenue visibility strengthened. Orders reached $20 billion, producing a 1.4-to-1 companywide book-to-bill ratio and lifting backlog to a record $136.5 billion. All four business segments grew, led by Aerospace and Marine Systems. General Dynamics Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Major submarine award supports long-term growth. General Dynamics Electric Boat received contracts totaling $76.6 billion for 14 submarines, including $29.5 billion for five Columbia-class vessels and $42.1 billion for nine Virginia-class submarines, plus shipyard infrastructure funding. Electric Boat Awarded Construction Contracts
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised or reaffirmed an above-consensus outlook. Fiscal 2026 EPS guidance was set at $16.80–$16.90, compared with consensus of $16.67, while revenue guidance of roughly $55.7 billion also exceeded expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operating cash flow was strong at $1.9 billion, or 162% of net earnings, although management highlighted supply-chain constraints and margin pressures that could limit near-term operating leverage. General Dynamics Stock Drops Following Earnings Beat
• Negative Sentiment: The post-earnings decline suggests investors may have been focused on profit-taking after GD reached elevated valuation levels, remaining production and supply risks, and a weak broader market. Recent insider activity also shows more selling than buying, though it is not necessarily tied to business fundamentals.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GD. UBS Group upgraded General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of General Dynamics from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $393.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $382.13 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $359.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $352.49. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12-month low of $306.03 and a 12-month high of $400.00.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $14.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.52 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.66 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.03%.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.

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