Cetera Trust Company N.A Invests $159,000 in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $159,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,613,000 after buying an additional 6,419 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in General Electric by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,335,000 after purchasing an additional 28,985 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,432,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the period. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 51,152.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 22,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GE shares. TD Cowen upgraded General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.07.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE opened at $150.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $159.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.03. General Electric has a 52 week low of $76.87 and a 52 week high of $158.68. The stock has a market cap of $164.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

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.