Herbst Group LLC Grows Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Herbst Group LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 125.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,981 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 16,111 shares during the quarter. General Electric makes up approximately 3.0% of Herbst Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Herbst Group LLC's holdings in General Electric were worth $4,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GE. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter valued at $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE traded up $3.09 on Friday, reaching $182.83. 5,887,078 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,238,171. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $174.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.08. The stock has a market cap of $197.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 52-week low of $101.16 and a 52-week high of $194.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. The business's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electric's payout ratio is 19.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GE. UBS Group upped their price target on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Melius Research lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.47.

General Electric 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.