Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 316,457 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 30.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 737,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 316,457 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $222,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 120.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, 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. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $277.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.29.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company 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%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.