Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 781 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 9.4%, now holding 9,095 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• General Dynamics reported $3.74 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.47, with a revenue of $13.04 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.9%, expected to be paid on November 14.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,095 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,088 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,868,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 243,730 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $64,220,000 after buying an additional 67,167 shares during the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners raised its stake in General Dynamics by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 973 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in General Dynamics by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,696 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,555,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 8,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.18, for a total value of $2,617,617.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,328,685.24. This represents a 26.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,452,165. This trade represents a 52.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 279,439 shares of company stock worth $87,495,956 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price objective on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.78.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock traded down $3.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $326.23. The stock had a trading volume of 578,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,847. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $313.76 and its 200 day moving average is $286.94. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $330.18.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company 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%. General Dynamics's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.26 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.050-15.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

About General Dynamics

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.