First Business Financial Services Inc. Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,244 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 57,065 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,245,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in General Dynamics by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 56,517 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,069,000 after acquiring an additional 5,536 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $695,000. Balboa Wealth Partners bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.7% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 34,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,895 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 6.9 %

NYSE GD opened at $292.42 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $243.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $302.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $296.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on GD shares. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

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.