Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Trims Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 73.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 538 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $656,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.9% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 23,373 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,063,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in General Dynamics by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 15,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,682,000 after acquiring an additional 5,559 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 17.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,932,000 after purchasing an additional 4,353 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $282.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $243.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $298.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.63.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GD shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.69.

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.