Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Sells 6,600 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd cut its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 78.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,600 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in General Electric were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GE. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the third quarter worth $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter worth about $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE opened at $197.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $211.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a 12-month low of $131.91 and a 12-month high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

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.