Key Points
- CEO Phebe Novakovic sold 32,918 shares at an average price of $354.09 for about $11.66 million, reducing her stake by 4.12% to 766,457 shares — a sizable insider sale that could weigh on sentiment.
- General Dynamics beat Q4 estimates with $4.17 EPS and $14.38 billion revenue (+7.8% YoY), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.100–16.200, and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.59 (a 6% increase; 1.8% yield).
- Wall Street remains broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy, an average target of $376.26, and multiple firms recently lifting price targets into the high $300s–$410 range.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at $15,825,134.50. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
General Dynamics Stock Down 1.1%
GD stock opened at $351.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $94.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.39. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $369.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $356.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $343.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.89.
General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.06. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The company had revenue of $14.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.
General Dynamics Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $1.59 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 38.83%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 118.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $567,372,000 after purchasing an additional 901,679 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 35.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 3,306.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 871,052 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $297,029,000 after buying an additional 845,482 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,439,720 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,003,444,000 after buying an additional 691,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,238,561 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,265,349,000 after buying an additional 677,665 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on General Dynamics from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $371.00 to $389.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Argus increased their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on General Dynamics from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.26.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on General Dynamics
Key Stories Impacting General Dynamics
Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Board approved a quarterly dividend of $1.59 (6% increase), payable May 8 to holders of record April 10 — supports income investor demand and signals confidence in cash flow. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Strong 2025 fundamentals: full‑year revenue and backlog strength (record ~$118B backlog, broad-based Marine Systems and Aerospace growth) and FY‑2026 EPS guidance (16.100–16.200) provide visible forward earnings and backlog-driven revenue visibility, underpinning medium‑term upside. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: U.S. shipbuilding policy and MAP momentum (renewed federal focus and proposed FY2026 naval funding) lift demand prospects for GD’s Bath Iron Works and Electric Boat units — an important structural tailwind for orders and long‑cycle revenue. (Market commentary)
- Neutral Sentiment: Valuation discussion: recent analysis questions whether the current ~\$350s price fully reflects defense‑spending upside vs execution/valuation risk; one‑year performance has been strong, so some profit‑taking is expected. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Technical backdrop: the stock is trading slightly below its 50‑day moving average but above the 200‑day — suggests short‑term consolidation within a longer‑term uptrend.
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Phebe Novakovic sold 32,918 shares (~$11.66M at ~$354.09); EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 10,153 shares; EVP Marguerite Gilliland sold 3,819 shares — sizable disclosed reductions that can pressure sentiment despite being taxable/liquidity-driven transactions. SEC/insider filings: Novakovic Trade Burns Trade Gilliland Trade
About General Dynamics
(
Get Free Report)
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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