Calamos Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 340,968 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,691 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $43,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,490,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,639,533,000 after buying an additional 7,157,356 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 122,242.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,438,063 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $878,644,000 after buying an additional 13,427,079 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,588,433 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,170,551,000 after buying an additional 410,061 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,955,511 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $990,032,000 after buying an additional 434,736 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $635,274,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:GE traded down $2.72 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $152.95. 6,178,391 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,980,855. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $158.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Electric has a twelve month low of $76.87 and a twelve month high of $158.68. The firm has a market cap of $167.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 13.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GE. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Saturday, April 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.07.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.