General Dynamics Corporation $GD Stake Increased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors increased its General Dynamics stake by 21.2% in the second quarter to 19,229 shares valued at $6.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.14% of GD.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $410.89; several firms raised targets to as high as $430.
• General Dynamics beat quarterly expectations with $4.24 EPS and $14.09 billion in revenue, while raising its annual dividend to $6.36 per share. However, insiders sold 100,228 shares worth approximately $38.1 million over the past three months.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 21.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,229 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,367 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 79.6% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $421.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $410.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 51,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $293,231,119.06. This represents a 6.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 100,228 shares of company stock valued at $38,052,853 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.4%

GD stock opened at $384.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $374.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.82. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $306.77 and a fifty-two week high of $400.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.28. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $14.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. General Dynamics's revenue 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, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.97 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 38.80%.

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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