Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 1,387 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 38.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,387 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Lummis Asset Management LP increased its stake 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 worth $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% in the third 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. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Seven 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $282.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $77.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $299.47 and its 200 day moving average is $295.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $243.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% 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.