General Electric (NYSE:GE) SVP Russell Stokes Sells 45,309 Shares

General Electric (NYSE:GE) SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 112,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

General Electric Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GE traded up $2.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.33. The stock had a trading volume of 5,500,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,534,409. General Electric has a 12 month low of $79.76 and a 12 month high of $170.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a PE ratio of 54.86, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $162.36 and its 200 day moving average is $143.60.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in 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 during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 90.2% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.00.

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.