Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 189,904 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises approximately 0.7% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,366,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,782,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,351,041,000 after buying an additional 115,063 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 23,262 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in General Dynamics by 1.5% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,485,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $430,928,000 after purchasing an additional 95,349 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. This represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $279.98 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $243.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.