Certified Advisory Corp Sells 1,042 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Certified Advisory Corp cut its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,758 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp’s holdings in General Electric were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth $1,193,159,000. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $520,488,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of General Electric by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,881,752 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $623,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,327 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 11,947.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,576,570 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $201,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,484 shares during the period. Finally, Carmignac Gestion acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $133,581,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on General Electric from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.21.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $161.60. 1,507,723 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,591,238. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $162.61 and its 200-day moving average is $142.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Electric has a 52 week low of $79.76 and a 52 week high of $170.80. The stock has a market cap of $176.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

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.