HTLF Bank Makes New $379,000 Investment in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

HTLF Bank acquired a new position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,969 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GE. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 152,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,526,000 after purchasing an additional 8,133 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 14,534 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 968.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 528,705 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,479,000 after purchasing an additional 479,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Down 3.2 %

General Electric stock opened at $148.09 on Friday. General Electric has a one year low of $76.87 and a one year high of $158.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet raised General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

Insider Activity at General Electric

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

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.