Provence Wealth Management Group Decreases Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Provence Wealth Management Group lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,016 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group’s holdings in General Electric were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its stake in General Electric by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 8,322 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 4,031 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,027 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $164.11. 3,968,626 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,987,890. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $179.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.25. General Electric has a 1 year low of $77.93 and a 1 year high of $166.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.89.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. 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

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. TheStreet upgraded General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.29.

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.