Bailard Inc. Decreases Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Bailard Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,030 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 682 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. TD Cowen raised shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Sunday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

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

General Electric Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $162.31 on Friday. General Electric has a 52-week low of $77.28 and a 52-week high of $163.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.72 and a 200 day moving average of $136.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $177.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

General Electric Profile

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.