WASHINGTON TRUST Co Reduces Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,149 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in General Electric were worth $657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GE. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 808.1% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 43.4% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Electric Trading Down 2.8 %

General Electric stock traded down $5.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $175.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,825,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,010,961. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.52 and a 200-day moving average of $129.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Electric has a one year low of $93.47 and a one year high of $180.36. The stock has a market cap of $191.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on General Electric from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Electric from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet raised General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised General Electric from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.54.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.