Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Reduces Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,435 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 968.4% during the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on GE shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Sunday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.00.

General Electric Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $162.35 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.23, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. General Electric has a 12-month low of $77.28 and a 12-month high of $163.65.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.