Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,707 General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,707 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GE. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after buying an additional 6,419 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,335,000 after buying an additional 28,985 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in General Electric by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,087,000 after acquiring an additional 10,722 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,432,000 after acquiring an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,846,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of GE stock opened at $159.70 on Thursday. General Electric has a twelve month low of $77.93 and a twelve month high of $166.26. The company has a market capitalization of $174.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.36, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on General Electric from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

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.