Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC Sells 509 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 25.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,529 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in General Electric by 2,818.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,237,930,000 after buying an additional 12,312,648 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,193,159,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after buying an additional 5,309,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in General Electric by 221.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,250,079,000 after buying an additional 4,907,530 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $520,488,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GE. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Argus raised their target price on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Up 3.1 %

GE stock traded up $5.14 on Friday, reaching $169.81. 7,297,730 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,743,017. General Electric has a one year low of $84.42 and a one year high of $177.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $184.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.30.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

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.