Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $259.47 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 117.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.31% of General Dynamics worth $259,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% in the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna raised 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. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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 research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $275.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $296.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.03.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.92 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.