General Electric (NYSE:GE) SVP Sells $7,377,211.38 in Stock

General Electric (NYSE:GE) SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total transaction of $7,377,211.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

General Electric Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:GE traded up $2.07 on Friday, reaching $167.33. 5,481,061 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,598,262. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.39 and its 200-day moving average is $143.21. 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 has a 1-year low of $79.76 and a 1-year high of $170.80.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.98 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of General Electric by 968.4% during the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GE. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.00.

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.