Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 16,435 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation by 147.3%, acquiring an additional 16,435 shares this past quarter, bringing its total ownership to 27,589 shares valued at approximately $8 million.
• General Dynamics announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, which will be paid to investors of record on October 10th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.
• Analysts have shown optimism, with multiple upgrades for General Dynamics' stock rating, and UBS Group raising its price target from $309 to $333.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 147.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,589 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,435 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 4.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,502,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,499,819,000 after purchasing an additional 256,687 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 34.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,748,380 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $749,252,000 after buying an additional 709,782 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,582,388 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $431,327,000 after buying an additional 5,313 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in General Dynamics by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,296,497 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $353,558,000 after buying an additional 94,537 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 120.9% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,261,525 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $343,866,000 after acquiring an additional 690,349 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 33,740 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.20, for a total value of $10,634,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,244,518.40. The trade was a 42.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William A. Moss sold 17,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.40, for a total transaction of $5,600,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,260,782.80. This represents a 51.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 275,020 shares of company stock valued at $86,414,503 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:GD opened at $343.76 on Monday. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $345.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $321.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.47.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 40.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. UBS Group upped their target price on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.78.

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.

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