Herold Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Herold Advisors Inc. increased its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,879 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 6,419 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,335,000 after purchasing an additional 28,985 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,087,000 after buying an additional 10,722 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its position in General Electric by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,432,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in General Electric by 51,152.3% during the third quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 22,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,493,000 after buying an additional 22,507 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GE. StockNews.com initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Sunday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet raised General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of GE traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.31. 5,896,674 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,112,607. General Electric has a 1 year low of $77.28 and a 1 year high of $163.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.72 and its 200-day moving average is $136.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued 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 dividend 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%.

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.