Independence Bank of Kentucky Trims Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,010 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in General Electric were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in General Electric by 2,818.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after purchasing an additional 12,312,648 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in General Electric by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after buying an additional 5,309,543 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in General Electric by 221.6% in the first 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 bought a new stake in General Electric in the second quarter valued at $580,200,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GE. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.14.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $191.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.31, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18. General Electric has a twelve month low of $84.42 and a twelve month high of $191.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.65.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion during 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 revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.54%.

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.