Cypress Capital Group Trims Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cypress Capital Group lessened its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 8.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,216,599,000 after buying an additional 293,316 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,782,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,351,041,000 after buying an additional 115,063 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,071,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $601,756,000 after buying an additional 47,915 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,680,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,927,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,606,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $466,049,000 after buying an additional 23,304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.69.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $279.70 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $243.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $300.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.05. The company has a market capitalization of $76.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics 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.