Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 2,800 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in General Electric were worth $9,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after acquiring an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,244,676,000 after purchasing an additional 156,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,314,080,000 after purchasing an additional 106,891 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in General Electric by 6.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,556,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,236,428,000 after buying an additional 413,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 12.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,106,786 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $774,458,000 after buying an additional 457,038 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE opened at $209.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. General Electric has a 1-year low of $110.95 and a 1-year high of $209.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.21.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, research analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 18.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GE shares. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Melius Research upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.73.

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.