Donaldson Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,943 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in General Electric by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 591,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $103,829,000 after purchasing an additional 18,693 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $206,000. Zeno Equity Partners LLP grew its position in shares of General Electric by 37.9% during the first quarter. Zeno Equity Partners LLP now owns 303,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $53,219,000 after buying an additional 83,315 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in General Electric by 0.4% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 212,044 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,220,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of GE stock traded up $1.09 on Friday, reaching $162.35. 5,898,021 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,321,559. General Electric has a 1-year low of $77.28 and a 1-year high of $163.65. The stock has a market cap of $177.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $160.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.09.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.00.

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.