Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 4,353 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,557 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,353 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,109,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 6.8% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 15.6% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 378,884 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $107,031,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Seven equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.69.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $282.01. 1,095,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,114,180. The company's 50 day moving average price is $299.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.92. The firm has a market cap of $77.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a PEG 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $243.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last 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, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.