Virtu Financial LLC Boosts Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,865 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% during the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on GE shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen upgraded General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.27.

General Electric Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:GE opened at $164.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.58 billion, a PE ratio of 54.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $161.18 and a 200-day moving average of $149.27. General Electric has a 52 week low of $82.11 and a 52 week high of $170.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.