West Family Investments Inc. Purchases 261 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,199 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 90.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE traded up $2.13 on Thursday, reaching $161.83. 2,188,796 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,953,510. 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 $177.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.25. General Electric has a 52 week low of $77.93 and a 52 week high of $166.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.33.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GE. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two 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, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, 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 Company 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.