General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• General Dynamics shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $380.71 as investors responded to recent momentum in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is still broadly positive, with multiple firms raising targets or ratings; the consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $389.15.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, including EPS of $4.10 versus estimates of $3.67 and revenue of $13.48 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share.

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $380.71 and last traded at $374.4870, with a volume of 736903 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $376.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on GD shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $389.15.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $101.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.95.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after acquiring an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. Jain Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 169,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $57,733,000 after buying an additional 83,692 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 155.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 104,773 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $35,273,000 after buying an additional 63,781 shares during the last quarter. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $1,103,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $7,914,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% 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.

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