Aviva PLC Sells 96,619 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Aviva PLC cut its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 653,654 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 96,619 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of General Electric worth $109,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GE. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Electric by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 177 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research raised shares of General Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Electric from $250.00 to $203.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.19.

General Electric Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $170.80. The company had a trading volume of 3,369,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,453,931. General Electric has a 52 week low of $146.78 and a 52 week high of $214.21. The business's 50-day moving average is $199.92 and its 200-day moving average is $186.71. The stock has a market cap of $183.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

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.