ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 162 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lessened its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,446 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 4.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,588,433 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,170,551,000 after acquiring an additional 410,061 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in General Electric by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,955,511 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $990,032,000 after purchasing an additional 434,736 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $520,488,000. Meritage Group LP increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 3,294,044 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $364,157,000 after purchasing an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 1.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,074,080 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $339,848,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GE traded up $1.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,968,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,987,890. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.64 billion, a PE ratio of 53.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Electric has a 52 week low of $77.93 and a 52 week high of $166.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $161.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.89.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the 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 directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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, April 24th. Two equities research 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.