General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Bought by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 582,970 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 103,337 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.05% of General Electric worth $73,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after purchasing an additional 6,419 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,335,000 after acquiring an additional 28,985 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 10.9% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 9.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,846,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GE traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,968,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,987,890. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $77.93 and a fifty-two week high of $166.26. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $179.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.81, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.30.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.29.

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.