General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Bought by Foster Group Inc.

Foster Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,623 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $1,193,159,000. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $520,488,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $268,519,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,881,752 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $623,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 11,947.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,576,570 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $201,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,484 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of GE opened at $165.15 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $180.77 billion, a PE ratio of 54.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.23. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $82.11 and a fifty-two week high of $170.80.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total transaction of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on General Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus raised their price target on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target 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 fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.27.

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.