General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Mathes Company Inc.

Mathes Company Inc. cut its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,450 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,277 shares during the period. General Electric makes up 2.0% of Mathes Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Mathes Company Inc.'s holdings in General Electric were worth $5,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 578 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 1,425 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 2,708 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GE shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

GE traded down $1.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $208.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,967,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,420,081. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.23. The company has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a 1 year low of $118.13 and a 1 year high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.70%.

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.