First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,936 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% during the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE GE opened at $163.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.72 and its 200-day moving average is $137.50. General Electric has a one year low of $77.93 and a one year high of $166.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $178.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on General Electric from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.29.

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.