General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,194,563 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 33,638 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.57% of General Electric worth $790,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE traded up $0.81 on Tuesday, reaching $168.78. The stock had a trading volume of 4,733,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,870,777. The company has a market capitalization of $184.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. General Electric has a 1-year low of $78.17 and a 1-year high of $170.80.

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. Research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on GE. Vertical Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other 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 transaction 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 approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.