AIA Group Ltd Sells 20,451 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

AIA Group Ltd trimmed its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 77.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,978 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 20,451 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in General Electric were worth $763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Halpern Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 808.1% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.07.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE opened at $148.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.37. General Electric has a 1 year low of $76.87 and a 1 year high of $158.68.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About General Electric

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.