General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,425 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,750 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family Legacy Inc. raised its stake in General Electric by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 14,010 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 45,383 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,569,000 after purchasing an additional 9,393 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its position in General Electric by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,465 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in General Electric by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 9,281 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,551,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in General Electric by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 37,563 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,265,000 after buying an additional 5,952 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE GE opened at $199.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $214.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 1-year low of $133.99 and a 1-year high of $214.21. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.64.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. 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 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

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.