LPL Financial LLC Acquires 19,811 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 441,544 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,811 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.16% of General Dynamics worth $133,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:GD opened at $281.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $243.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $300.44 and a 200 day moving average of $295.98.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Barclays boosted 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.69.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% 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.

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