General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,279 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 587 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its stake in General Electric by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 14,534 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,697 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 968.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 528,705 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,479,000 after purchasing an additional 479,209 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $237,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,105 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 98,149 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,527 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Electric Trading Down 1.3 %

GE stock traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $153.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,900,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,950,624. General Electric has a 12-month low of $76.87 and a 12-month high of $158.68. The firm has a market cap of $168.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $158.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

About General Electric

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.