Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 212 General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 212 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of General Electric by 17.3% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,490,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,639,533,000 after acquiring an additional 7,157,356 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 122,242.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,438,063 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $878,644,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427,079 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in General Electric by 4.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,588,433 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,170,551,000 after purchasing an additional 410,061 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in General Electric by 5.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,955,511 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $990,032,000 after purchasing an additional 434,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $635,274,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other General Electric 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 value 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Electric Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $148.06 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $161.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.32 and a 200 day moving average of $134.74. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $76.87 and a fifty-two week high of $158.68.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.76 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

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.