Dearborn Partners LLC Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Dearborn Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 57,065 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $17,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $292.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.23. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $243.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. 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 (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.69.

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.