Blue Trust Inc. Sells 1,256 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,256 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in General Electric by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after buying an additional 6,419 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in General Electric by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,335,000 after buying an additional 28,985 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in General Electric by 24,042.9% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 10,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 10,098 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in General Electric by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,432,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in General Electric by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 225,814 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,821,000 after buying an additional 5,997 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

GE traded down $2.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $160.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,668,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,518,849. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $162.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.53. General Electric has a 12 month low of $84.42 and a 12 month high of $170.80. The stock has a market cap of $175.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total transaction of $7,377,211.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 112,958 shares in the company, valued at $18,391,821.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GE. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Argus lifted 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, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.93.

General Electric Company 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.