Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Lowers Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC decreased its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,298 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $4,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 2,818.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after buying an additional 12,312,648 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in General Electric by 221.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,250,079,000 after buying an additional 4,907,530 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $580,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.86.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $192.96. 2,476,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,315,085. General Electric has a 1 year low of $84.58 and a 1 year high of $194.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $211.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $178.51 and its 200-day moving average is $167.58.

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

General Electric Announces Dividend

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

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.