Vest Financial LLC Has $49.41 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC trimmed its stake in General Dynamics by 16.3% in Q4, selling 28,668 shares and ending the quarter with 146,756 shares worth about $49.41 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• Insiders sold 51,260 shares over the past three months — including CEO Phebe Novakovic’s 32,918-share sale — totaling about $18.13 million and leaving insiders with ~1.40% ownership.
• General Dynamics beat quarterly revenue and EPS estimates, set FY2026 guidance of 16.100–16.200 EPS (analysts expect ~16.3), and boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.59 (annualized $6.36, ~2.0% yield).

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,756 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 28,668 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.05% of General Dynamics worth $49,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,338,169,000 after buying an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,236,900,000 after buying an additional 187,435 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,770,714 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $603,813,000 after purchasing an additional 58,524 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 118.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $567,372,000 after purchasing an additional 901,679 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at $15,825,134.50. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,260 shares of company stock valued at $18,133,971. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $398.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $389.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $389.78.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2%

General Dynamics stock opened at $312.65 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $346.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $346.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $84.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.38. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $266.98 and a twelve month high of $369.70.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.15 earnings per share. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.3 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.17%.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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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