Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Raises Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 23.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,071,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $601,756,000 after purchasing an additional 47,915 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,680,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,927,000 after purchasing an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,606,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $466,049,000 after purchasing an additional 23,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 8.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,537,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $464,526,000 after purchasing an additional 114,461 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:GD opened at $281.81 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $243.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.00. 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 market capitalization of $77.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GD. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price 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 company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.69.

General Dynamics Company 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.