General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Purchased by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank raised its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,015 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in General Electric were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE stock opened at $205.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.55. 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 has a 12-month low of $110.57 and a 12-month high of $207.84. The firm has a market cap of $220.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.22.

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

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.70%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GE shares. UBS Group upped their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.73.

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.