Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. reduced its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,498 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in General Electric by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 13,769 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Family Legacy Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 13,813 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $383,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $4.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.51. 6,901,010 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,957,648. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $149.60 and its 200 day moving average is $128.58. General Electric has a one year low of $92.56 and a one year high of $179.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. General Electric’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded General Electric from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on General Electric from $148.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays raised their price target on General Electric from $153.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on General Electric from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, TheStreet raised General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.54.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.