Chatham Capital Group Inc. Invests $3.96 Million in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,554 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $3,959,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morningstar Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC now owns 29,957 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,312,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in shares of General Electric by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,615 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of General Electric stock traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $158.97. 8,641,197 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,007,353. The firm has a market cap of $174.01 billion, a PE ratio of 52.12, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.17. General Electric has a 1 year low of $84.42 and a 1 year high of $170.80. The stock's fifty day moving average is $162.36 and its 200 day moving average is $151.59.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. General Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 112,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,391,821.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GE. TD Cowen raised General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Two 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.36.

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.