General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 382,017 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 22,277 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $63,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

General Electric stock opened at $192.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.64. The stock has a market cap of $206.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 12-month low of $131.91 and a 12-month high of $212.19.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

General Electric 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.