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

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,895 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,572,000 after purchasing an additional 357,861 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 879.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $96,148,000 after purchasing an additional 305,624 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,216,599,000 after purchasing an additional 293,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 24.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,347,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,119,000 after purchasing an additional 262,164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.69.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $292.42 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $243.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $302.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

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

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.