General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stake Raised by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 138.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,741 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 7,408 shares during the period. General Electric accounts for about 1.7% of Sterling Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings in General Electric were worth $2,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 117.7% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in General Electric by 10.5% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 603,988 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $96,016,000 after buying an additional 57,372 shares during the period. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $733,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in General Electric by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after buying an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 269.8% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $5,318,000 after buying an additional 20,575 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric 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 owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,441,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,822,603. General Electric has a twelve month low of $101.16 and a twelve month high of $194.80. The firm has a market cap of $203.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.49.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.47.

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.