Rayburn West Financial Services LLC Invests $2.39 Million in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 7,090 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,000. General Dynamics comprises 1.5% of Rayburn West Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 140.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $240,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $352,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $1,284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 123,970 shares of company stock worth $43,174,793. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $389.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.20.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.5%

General Dynamics stock opened at $341.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics Corporation has a 12 month low of $267.39 and a 12 month high of $369.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $344.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.83. The firm has a market cap of $92.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 40.03%.

General Dynamics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) announced a new partnership with NightDragon to accelerate U.S. government adoption of emerging AI and cybersecurity technologies, which could support future federal contract growth and reinforce the company’s positioning in secure-tech markets. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Two separate filings showed EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold a combined 72,710 shares on May 11 and May 12 at prices around $343 to $345 per share. Insider selling can weigh on sentiment, but the trades do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary around the GDIT-NightDragon deal noted that General Dynamics shares fell after the announcement, suggesting investors may be treating the news as incremental rather than a near-term catalyst. Article Title

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.