SFE Investment Counsel Decreases Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

SFE Investment Counsel lowered its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,342 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in General Electric by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 122,331 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,446,000 after buying an additional 14,194 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 96,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,698 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in General Electric by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 167,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,703,000 after purchasing an additional 19,085 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 9,090 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,445,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:GE opened at $161.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $176.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.88, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $165.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.18. General Electric has a 52 week low of $84.42 and a 52 week high of $177.20.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.38.

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.