Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 17.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,812 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,071 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Pelham Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in General Electric by 209.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pelham Capital Ltd. now owns 128,986 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,324,000 after purchasing an additional 87,321 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,571 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 404,294 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $76,242,000 after acquiring an additional 46,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $566,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GE. Barclays upped their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.86.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $192.61 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $178.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.42. The company has a market capitalization of $210.83 billion, a PE ratio of 63.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. General Electric has a 52 week low of $84.42 and a 52 week high of $194.80.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

General Electric 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.