State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stake in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation by 8.8% in Q1, selling 7,475 shares and owning 77,883 shares worth $21,229,000.
• Insider transactions included EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland selling 33,740 shares for approximately $10.6 million, representing a 42.75% decrease in her position.
• General Dynamics has seen several analysts raise their price targets, with Robert W. Baird increasing it from $283 to $350 and Susquehanna from $315 to $365, reflecting positive market sentiment.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,883 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 7,475 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $21,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 target price on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Nine equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,452,165. This trade represents a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. This represents a 18.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 319,810 shares of company stock valued at $94,643,139 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD traded up $2.7570 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $316.3370. The stock had a trading volume of 748,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $85.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $322.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $299.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.83.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.27%.

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.