National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 103,337 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 582,970 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,337 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in General Electric were worth $73,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 4.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,588,433 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,170,551,000 after purchasing an additional 410,061 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in General Electric by 5.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $520,488,000. Meritage Group LP lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.5% during the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 3,294,044 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $364,157,000 after purchasing an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $339,848,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on GE shares. StockNews.com began coverage on General Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Up 0.9 %

GE stock traded up $1.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,968,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,987,890. General Electric has a one year low of $77.93 and a one year high of $166.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $161.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $179.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

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.