General Dynamics Corporation (GD) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Posted by Stanley Muller on Oct 12th, 2026

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD – Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $407.16.

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $435.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Read Our Latest Report on GD

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Marguerite Gilliland sold 43,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.04, for a total value of $16,323,767.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,923,716.68. This represents a 49.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 51,568 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.58, for a total value of $19,728,885.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 102,188 shares of company stock worth $38,627,265 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,840,590,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,811,099 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,183,964,000 after buying an additional 374,682 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter worth $2,603,527,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,786,786,000 after acquiring an additional 114,647 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 806.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,661,702 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $588,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,353 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $331.35 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $363.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.52. The stock has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.33. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $306.77 and a 12-month high of $400.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $14.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.52 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.80%.

Trending Headlines about General Dynamics

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

Positive Sentiment: General Dynamics named current President Danny Deep as chief executive, effective Jan. 1, 2027, with current CEO Phebe Novakovic becoming executive chair. Deep’s internal promotion may provide continuity in strategy and operations while reducing succession uncertainty. Deep Tapped As Next CEO Of General Dynamics
Positive Sentiment: GD is partnering with Primordial Labs to add AI-powered voice control to the Abrams and XM30 combat vehicle programs. The initiative reinforces the company’s exposure to military modernization and artificial-intelligence spending, although the near-term financial impact was not disclosed. General Dynamics, Primordial Labs Partner to Bring AI Voice Control
Neutral Sentiment: General Dynamics will webcast its third-quarter 2026 financial-results conference call on Oct. 30. Investors will look for updates on orders, margins, cash flow and full-year guidance; the announcement itself does not change current fundamentals. General Dynamics to Webcast 2026 Third-Quarter Financial Results Conference Call
Neutral Sentiment: Dividend coverage and valuation analyses continue to frame GD as an income-oriented defense stock. A comparison with GE Aerospace focuses on which company offers better value, but neither article identifies a material change to GD’s dividend or outlook. General Dynamics Corp’s Dividend Analysis
Negative Sentiment: Several commentaries remain cautious, noting that GD shares have underperformed the broader market over the past six months and arguing that a CEO change alone will not resolve defense-industry challenges such as execution, budget timing and investor concerns. This negative sentiment may weigh on the stock despite the orderly succession. General Dynamics’ New CEO Won’t Fix Defense Stocks’ Problems

General Dynamics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) is an aerospace and defense company that develops and delivers products and services for government and commercial customers. The company operates through four primary business segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies.

Its Aerospace segment designs and manufactures Gulfstream business jets and provides aircraft support services. Marine Systems builds nuclear-powered submarines and surface ships for the U.S. Navy, while Combat Systems produces armored vehicles, combat systems, weapons, and munitions.