General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 440,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 46,700 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $127,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 293,316 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,782,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,351,041,000 after purchasing an additional 115,063 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $592,764,000 after purchasing an additional 24,395 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,680,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,927,000 after purchasing an additional 23,262 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,606,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $466,049,000 after buying an additional 23,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $300.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $82.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $214.53 and a 52-week high of $309.97.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on GD. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.41.

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.