Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Increases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.9% in the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 17,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,429,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 16,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,851 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.6% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GD. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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 target on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $287.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $243.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $79.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results 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 firm 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 company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.