Mechanics Bank Trust Department Reduces Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department reduced its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,699 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in General Electric were worth $509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 37.9% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 211 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. grew its stake in General Electric by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp increased its position in General Electric by 1.0% during the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $191.16 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $175.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.50. The stock has a market cap of $209.25 billion, a PE ratio of 62.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. General Electric has a 12-month low of $84.42 and a 12-month high of $191.76.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. General Electric’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.14.

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.