Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 82,825 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,976 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in General Electric were worth $9,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in General Electric by 808.1% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 53.6% during the first quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on General Electric from $108.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Oppenheimer lowered General Electric from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on General Electric from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on General Electric from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust bought 35,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $995.44 per share, with a total value of $34,999,670.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 175,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,361,270.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 112,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.20, for a total value of $12,973,132.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 57,923 shares in the company, valued at $6,672,729.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust bought 35,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $995.44 per share, for a total transaction of $34,999,670.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 175,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,361,270.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $115.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $125.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.91. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $48.06 and a fifty-two week high of $117.96.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $15.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 9.30% and a net margin of 13.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 26th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 25th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.80%.

General Electric Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.