Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $5.43 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 832 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GD. 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. Barclays raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.69.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $287.99 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $302.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.27. The stock has a market cap of $79.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 1.90 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 fifty-two week low of $243.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, 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 transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is 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.