Sovran Advisors LLC Takes Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,264 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $931,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 117.7% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $733,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 269.8% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,318,000 after purchasing an additional 20,575 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,662 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 5,162 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Melius Research lifted their target price on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.73.

General Electric Stock Up 1.9 %

General Electric stock opened at $209.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $180.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.28. General Electric has a 1-year low of $110.95 and a 1-year high of $209.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.70%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.