Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 179,447 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,572,368 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 179,447 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.33% of General Electric worth $341,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Electric by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Ruffer LLP increased its position in General Electric by 138.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 379,002 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,227,000 after buying an additional 220,210 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in General Electric by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its position in General Electric by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 14,859 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,760 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in General Electric by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 18,698 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.83% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE stock opened at $115.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $125.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.25. General Electric has a 52 week low of $48.06 and a 52 week high of $117.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.48.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $15.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 9.30% and a net margin of 13.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 25th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.80%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other General Electric news, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust purchased 35,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $995.44 per share, for a total transaction of $34,999,670.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 175,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,361,270.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 112,614 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.20, for a total value of $12,973,132.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 57,923 shares in the company, valued at $6,672,729.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder General Electric Pension Trust acquired 35,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $995.44 per share, with a total value of $34,999,670.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 175,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,361,270.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of General Electric from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on General Electric from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

General Electric Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.