Leavell Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,472 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,003 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GE. Tsfg LLC grew its position in General Electric by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 485 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its position in General Electric by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in General Electric by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 1,425 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in General Electric by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Investment Management grew its position in General Electric by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 2,708 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $209.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $110.95 and a fifty-two week high of $211.42.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GE. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Melius Research upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.73.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

About General Electric

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.