General Dynamics Corporation $GD Stock: Willis Investment Counsel Cuts Holdings

Willis Investment Counsel cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 22.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GD. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.6% in the third quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 1,405 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 33,307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,052,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 1.5% during the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,058 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.2% in the third quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3,203.3% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 78,817 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,154,000 after acquiring an additional 76,431 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $384.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.32.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $342.58. 359,483 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,292,329. The stock has a market cap of $92.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.33. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $306.77 and a 1-year high of $400.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $357.41 and a 200-day moving average of $355.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.28. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $14.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.74 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.80%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe Novakovic sold 51,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.58, for a total transaction of $19,728,885.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,231,119.06. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marguerite Gilliland sold 43,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,923,716.68. This represents a 49.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 102,188 shares of company stock valued at $38,627,265 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops, manufactures and supports products and services for government and commercial customers. Its operations serve the U.S. government, allied nations and other customers worldwide, with a significant focus on national security, military modernization and mission support.

The company operates through four primary business areas. Aerospace provides Gulfstream business jets and related aircraft services through Gulfstream Aerospace, as well as aircraft management, charter, maintenance and completions services through Jet Aviation.