Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 40,157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,977,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 1,725.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 79.6% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $379.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $376.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $356.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52-week low of $306.77 and a 52-week high of $400.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $14.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.52 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.74 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.97 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th 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 Friday, October 9th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on General Dynamics from $364.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $421.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $435.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $410.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 43,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,923,716.68. This trade represents a 49.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 51,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.58, for a total transaction of $19,728,885.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,231,119.06. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,228 shares of company stock worth $38,052,853. Company insiders own 1.40% 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.