Hilltop Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 702.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,698 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,617 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 139,657 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $42,204,000 after acquiring an additional 14,149 shares in the last quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $299,000. Coastwise Capital Group LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4,129.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 43,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,001,000 after purchasing an additional 41,998 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $276.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $298.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.58.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.