Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. Buys New Shares in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 20,076 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,562,000. General Electric accounts for about 2.7% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of GE traded down $4.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $148.32. 4,584,049 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,931,982. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.10. General Electric has a twelve month low of $76.87 and a twelve month high of $158.68. The stock has a market cap of $162.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. General Electric’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.38%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.07.

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.