Sheets Smith Wealth Management Invests $3.96 Million in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management purchased a new position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 31,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $3,959,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GE. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 6,419 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in General Electric by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,335,000 after purchasing an additional 28,985 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,432,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,846,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE stock traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,968,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,987,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.64 billion, a PE ratio of 53.81, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $161.93 and its 200 day moving average is $138.30. General Electric has a twelve month low of $77.93 and a twelve month high of $166.26.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on GE. TD Cowen raised shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.29.

General Electric Company 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.