Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Boosts Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 15.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,512 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,161 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Prostatis Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 808.1% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 74.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on General Electric from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on General Electric from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Argus raised their price objective on General Electric from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of General Electric from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust acquired 35,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $174,361,270.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 112,614 shares of the business’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 transaction of $12,973,132.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,923 shares in the company, valued at $6,672,729.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust bought 35,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $995.44 per share, for a total transaction of $34,999,670.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 175,160 shares in the company, valued at $174,361,270.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $115.49. The stock had a trading volume of 6,733,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,146,510. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $112.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.91. The company has a market cap of $125.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.28. General Electric has a 12-month low of $48.06 and a 12-month high of $117.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $15.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

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

About General Electric

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.