Trust Co. of Vermont Increases Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 16.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,325 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,444,222 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,288,136,000 after buying an additional 550,996 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of General Electric by 9.9% during the first 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. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 2,818.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312,648 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,193,159,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position 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. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total transaction of $7,377,211.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of GE stock traded up $3.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.19. 5,055,198 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,112,696. The stock has a market cap of $177.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.33, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.25. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $84.42 and a fifty-two week high of $177.20. 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 (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.71.

General Electric Company 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.