Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 92,485 Shares of GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) by 299.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,402 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 92,485 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in GE Aerospace were worth $20,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of GE Aerospace by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in GE Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GE Aerospace during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of GE Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of GE Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of GE Aerospace from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of GE Aerospace in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on GE Aerospace from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on GE Aerospace from $207.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.92.

GE Aerospace Stock Performance

Shares of GE stock opened at $214.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.24 and a 200-day moving average of $187.91. The company has a market cap of $229.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. GE Aerospace has a 52 week low of $150.20 and a 52 week high of $216.80.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.20. GE Aerospace had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. The business had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.06 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

GE Aerospace Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. This is a positive change from GE Aerospace’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. GE Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of GE Aerospace stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $807,379.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,270,264.20. This trade represents a 26.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.67, for a total transaction of $321,473.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,766,899.35. The trade was a 15.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About GE Aerospace

GE Aerospace (also known as General Electric) is a company that specializes in providing aerospace products and services. It operates through two reportable segments: Commercial Engines and Services and Defense and Propulsion Technologies. It offers jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business, and general aviation aircraft.