440 Shares in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Purchased by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its stake in General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in General Electric by 90.2% during 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 increased its position in General Electric by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in General Electric by 43.4% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on General Electric in a report on Saturday, April 13th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.07.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $155.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. General Electric has a 1 year low of $76.87 and a 1 year high of $158.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.96.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.38%.

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.