First National Bank Sioux Falls Makes New Investment in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

First National Bank Sioux Falls bought a new stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,617 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in General Electric by 43.4% during the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Trading Up 8.3 %

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $12.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.62. 18,843,017 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,137,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Electric has a 12-month low of $76.87 and a 12-month high of $163.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on General Electric in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.07.

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.