The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 111,236 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 520,510 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 111,236 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $157,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,572,000 after purchasing an additional 357,861 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,216,599,000 after buying an additional 293,316 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 24.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,347,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,119,000 after buying an additional 262,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics by 174.8% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 384,151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $111,458,000 after acquiring an additional 244,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. This represents a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % 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 insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

GD opened at $282.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 fifty day moving average price of $299.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.82. 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 (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $11.67 billion during 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%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics 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.