Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Reduces Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. reduced its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,996 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 485 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 1,425 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.6% in the third quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its position in General Electric by 1.0% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Management Co. grew its stake in General Electric by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Melius Research raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.47.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $182.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $174.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.00. General Electric has a 52-week low of $101.16 and a 52-week high of $194.80. The firm has a market cap of $197.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 19.68%.

General Electric 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.