MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 5,859 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,322 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,859 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $20,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $108,572,000 after acquiring an additional 357,861 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 293,316 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 24.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,347,247 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $391,119,000 after purchasing an additional 262,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 174.8% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 384,151 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $111,458,000 after purchasing an additional 244,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. This represents a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GD shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.69.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $282.31 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $299.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.72. The firm has a market cap of $77.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $243.87 and a 12 month 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). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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