Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in General Dynamics Corporation $GD

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,770,714 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,524 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.66% of General Dynamics worth $603,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Louisbourg Investments Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 80.3% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $353.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $95.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics Corporation has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $369.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $355.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.24.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.77 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.57% and a net margin of 8.01%.General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Mark Rayha sold 4,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 35.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Paddock sold 20,360 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.92, for a total transaction of $6,818,971.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 36,644 shares in the company, valued at $12,272,808.48. This trade represents a 35.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, January 15th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $371.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.26.

General Dynamics Profile

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.