Willis Investment Counsel Boosts Stock Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 13.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,502,305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,499,819,000 after buying an additional 256,687 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 34.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,748,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,252,000 after purchasing an additional 709,782 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 5,313 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in General Dynamics by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,413,021 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $413,812,000 after purchasing an additional 116,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 120.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,261,525 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $343,866,000 after buying an additional 690,349 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 3,220 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total value of $1,060,829.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,186 shares in the company, valued at $3,355,777.70. This trade represents a 24.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 8,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.18, for a total transaction of $2,617,617.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,328,685.24. This represents a 26.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $339.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $91.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $360.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $338.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.48.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.19. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 8.18%.The company had revenue of $12.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. General Dynamics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.300-15.35 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Melius Research upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $369.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $358.10.

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.