General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,966 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 10,969 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in General Electric were worth $8,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the third quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE traded up $12.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $200.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,394,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,436,080. The business's fifty day moving average price is $174.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.59. General Electric has a twelve month low of $101.16 and a twelve month high of $207.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $217.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.