Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 4,587,544 Shares of General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has reduced its stake in General Dynamics Corporation by 55.2%, holding approximately $1.01 billion worth of shares after selling 4.5 million shares in the first quarter.
• General Dynamics reported $3.74 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.27, with revenues of $13.04 billion compared to expected figures of $12.13 billion.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for General Dynamics, with Citigroup setting a new price objective of $368.00, reflecting strong confidence in the stock's potential.

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 55.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,718,924 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,587,544 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.39% of General Dynamics worth $1,013,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,502,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,499,819,000 after buying an additional 256,687 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $773,355,000 after buying an additional 145,978 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,606,137 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $686,691,000 after buying an additional 103,870 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings 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. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 33,740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.20, for a total transaction of $10,634,848.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,244,518.40. The trade was a 42.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 448,900 shares of company stock valued at $135,121,890 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $2.8260 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $319.3560. The company's stock had a trading volume of 917,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,212. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $322.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $279.52.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. General Dynamics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.050-15.150 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 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.