Czech National Bank Boosts Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 234,663 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,778 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in General Electric were worth $39,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GE. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Electric Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $171.65 on Monday. General Electric has a one year low of $100.95 and a one year high of $194.80. The company has a market cap of $185.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $174.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.54.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.68%.

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.