General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 777 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $520,488,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 265.7% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,008,425 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $332,581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,793 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 11,947.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,576,570 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $201,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563,484 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the third quarter worth $133,581,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 358.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,456,673 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $161,035,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,896 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GE. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus increased their target price on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $162.35. The stock had a trading volume of 5,898,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,321,559. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.22, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29. General Electric has a twelve month low of $77.28 and a twelve month high of $163.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.09.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, 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 corporate insiders.

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.