543 Shares in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Bought by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 543 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $95,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Analysts LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $169.38. 2,793,662 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,107,083. The stock has a market cap of $183.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.52, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. General Electric has a one year low of $84.42 and a one year high of $177.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $162.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.23.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $7,377,211.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,958 shares in the company, valued at $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.