Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases New Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $779,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GE. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in General Electric by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 84,405 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,773,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 82,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,545,000 after purchasing an additional 6,220 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 7,553 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,953 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,959,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Up 0.5 %

GE stock traded up $0.81 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.78. 4,760,941 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,870,267. 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 $78.17 and a 1 year high of $170.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.20 and a 200-day moving average of $138.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.75 billion, a PE ratio of 55.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

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.