DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 1,330 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,223 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,330 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in General Electric were worth $4,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank raised its position in General Electric by 5.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 220,885 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $41,654,000 after purchasing an additional 12,298 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,489 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,052,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490 shares during the last quarter. Herbst Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,427,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of General Electric by 1.0% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 20,960 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,953,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of GE traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $205.32. The company had a trading volume of 3,953,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,930,974. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $220.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.55. General Electric has a 1-year low of $110.57 and a 1-year high of $207.84.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders 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 currently 18.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.