ING Groep NV Grows Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,895 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $10,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 98.6% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 38,555 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,891,000 after purchasing an additional 19,143 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 28.1% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,376 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. This represents a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Seven research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.69.

General Dynamics Trading Down 6.9 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $292.42 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $302.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.23. The company has a market capitalization of $80.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly 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). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 EPS for the current 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.