J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,347 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in General Electric by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,925,000 after buying an additional 27,682 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the first quarter worth $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 2.9% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the first quarter worth $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric during the first quarter worth $230,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE stock opened at $148.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.55. The company has a market capitalization of $161.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.29. General Electric has a 1-year low of $76.87 and a 1-year high of $158.68.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

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.