Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 295,825 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 28,600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in General Electric were worth $47,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in General Electric by 2,818.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,237,930,000 after buying an additional 12,312,648 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $1,193,159,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 221.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 1st quarter worth about $385,745,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $166.28 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.54. General Electric has a 1-year low of $84.42 and a 1-year high of $177.20. The firm has a market cap of $182.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GE. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com cut General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.14.

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.