Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,895 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GD shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $292.42 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $243.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $80.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $302.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.23.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.