General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Position Trimmed by Hedges Asset Management LLC

Hedges Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,025 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. General Electric accounts for about 4.1% of Hedges Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Hedges Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $6,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE opened at $200.66 on Friday. General Electric has a 52 week low of $101.16 and a 52 week high of $207.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $217.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $174.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.59.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 19.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GE. Citigroup raised their target price on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.47.

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.