Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 1,355 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,459 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $3,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 43.4% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of General Electric stock traded up $3.20 on Tuesday, hitting $156.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,991,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,995,182. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. General Electric has a one year low of $76.38 and a one year high of $158.68. The stock has a market cap of $171.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.49.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Electric Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.