General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,088 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the second quarter worth about $907,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth about $556,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 15.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 967,639 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $153,826,000 after acquiring an additional 131,033 shares during the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in General Electric by 7.0% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 1,525 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 15.5% during the second quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,169 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 4,728 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Citigroup upped their price target on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.47.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $171.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $100.95 and a fifty-two week high of $194.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.62. The firm has a market cap of $185.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.68%.

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.