Conning Inc. Grows Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Conning Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 8,022 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $38,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWC Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $771,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 87.6% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after buying an additional 6,858 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter worth about $493,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,022,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 291.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,539 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,271,000 after purchasing an additional 71,871 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.69.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $292.99 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $300.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.10. The company has a market cap of $80.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.61. 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 $238.31 and a one year high of $313.11.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

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.