Davis R M Inc. Decreases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Davis R M Inc. cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Lummis Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 32.6% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 588,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $177,881,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GD shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on 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 reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.69.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $281.30 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $299.91 and its 200 day moving average is $295.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $243.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 represents a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Profile

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.