VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 141,280 General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 141,280 General Dynamics shares worth approximately $50 million, while institutional investors collectively own 86.14% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $410.89; recent targets range as high as $455.
• General Dynamics exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reported 8.1% year-over-year revenue growth, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, yielding approximately 1.8%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 141,280 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $50,047,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.05% of General Dynamics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in General Dynamics by 35,603.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 126,417,629 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,782,181,000 after purchasing an additional 126,063,548 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,840,590,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,603,527,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,986,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter valued at approximately $429,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marguerite Gilliland sold 43,180 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.04, for a total value of $16,323,767.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,923,716.68. This trade represents a 49.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 51,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.58, for a total value of $19,728,885.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $293,231,119.06. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 100,228 shares of company stock worth $38,052,853 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $364.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $421.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 price objective on General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $410.89.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $359.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business's 50 day moving average is $378.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $357.36. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $306.77 and a 52-week high of $400.00. The firm has a market cap of $97.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $14.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.52 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 8.18%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.99 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.80%.

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.

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