Stevens Capital Management LP Buys 7,475 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Stevens Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,911 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,475 shares during the period. General Electric comprises approximately 0.7% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 4.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,588,433 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,170,551,000 after acquiring an additional 410,061 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 5.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,955,511 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $990,032,000 after acquiring an additional 434,736 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $520,488,000. Meritage Group LP grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.5% in the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 3,294,044 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $364,157,000 after acquiring an additional 110,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,074,080 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $339,848,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE stock traded up $1.09 on Friday, reaching $162.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,882,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,112,607. The company has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.23, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. General Electric has a 12-month low of $77.28 and a 12-month high of $163.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.73.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GE. Argus upped their price objective on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.00.

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.