Van Strum & Towne Inc. Sells 100 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. lowered its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,875 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 16,565 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $353,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of General Electric by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 177 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co increased its position in shares of General Electric by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 4,079 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Up 2.6 %

GE stock opened at $197.39 on Friday. General Electric has a 1-year low of $131.91 and a 1-year high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $211.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.82.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. Research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

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.