5 Dividend Stocks Better Than Cryptocurrencies

3. General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Dividend Yield as of March 24: 2.09%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) is an American aerospace and defense company operating via four segments — Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. 

On March 2, General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) declared a $1.26 per share quarterly dividend, a 5.9% increase from its previous dividend of $1.19. The dividend is payable on May 6, to shareholders of the company as of April 8. 2022 marks the 25th year of consistent dividend hikes by General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), which should assure investors about the dependability of the income stock. 

General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), reported on March 18 that it has been assigned the User Facing and Data Center Services contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. This contract has a budget of $4.5 billion and a 10-year timeline. 

Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Akers on March 7 raised the price target on General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) to $282 from $235 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst expects valuation to remain high for the foreseeable future, given escalated geopolitical tensions. 

In Q4 2021, General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) was found in 48 hedge fund portfolios as per Insider Monkey’s records, up from 36 funds in the prior quarter. Longview Asset Management is the biggest shareholder of the company, owning more than 30 million shares worth $6.2 billion. 

Here is what Oakmark Global Fund has to say about General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) in their Q1 2021 investor letter:

“The second new U.S. equity purchase was General Dynamics, a leading U.S. defense contractor and owner of the world’s premier business jet franchise (Gulfstream). We were able to purchase this high-quality and durable business at a meaningful discount to our estimate of its intrinsic value after a series of near-term concerns hurt its share price. Taking a longer term view, the company’s business jet franchise should benefit from a multi-year investment program in new, differentiated products. Also, its free cash flow conversion is set to improve materially and the company is poised to benefit from a highly visible ramp up in revenue related to next generation nuclear-powered submarines. As these positives come into clearer view, we expect sentiment to improve, along with the company’s share price.”