Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 41,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 5,729 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% during the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $336.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $91.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.38. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $262.84 and a 1 year high of $369.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.28.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.17%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total value of $11,655,934.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Rayha sold 4,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.79, for a total transaction of $1,524,212.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,997.44. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 51,260 shares of company stock worth $18,133,971 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $384.53.

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.