Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 15.9% in Q4, buying 5,729 shares to hold 41,673 shares worth about $14.03 million.
• General Dynamics beat Q4 estimates with $4.17 EPS versus $4.11 expected and $14.38 billion in revenue versus $13.77 billion, and set FY2026 guidance of $16.10–$16.20 EPS (sell-side consensus ~14.83).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.59 (from $1.50), an annualized $6.36 payout (yield ~1.9%) payable May 8, with a payout ratio around 41%.

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,673 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 5,729 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 453.3% during the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 9,418 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 7,716 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 703.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,548 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 9,235 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 73.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 4,532 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 917,424 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $312,842,000 after purchasing an additional 32,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,007,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $336.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $350.17 and its 200 day moving average is $347.28. The stock has a market cap of $91.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.38. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $262.84 and a one year high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.77 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.57% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on GD shares. UBS Group set a $393.00 target price on General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $384.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 51,260 shares of company stock valued at $18,133,971 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.