Searle & CO. Acquires New Shares in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Searle & CO. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,934 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GE. Dopkins Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 6.4% in the second quarter. Dopkins Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in General Electric in the 2nd quarter worth about $693,000. Arrow Financial Corp increased its stake in General Electric by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 4,114 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,989 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Trading Up 0.6 %

GE stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $174.62. 5,295,576 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,756,916. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.98 and a 200-day moving average of $162.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.14 billion, a PE ratio of 57.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. General Electric has a 1 year low of $84.42 and a 1 year high of $177.20.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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 given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.38.

About General Electric

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.