Groupe la Francaise Purchases 43,159 Shares of GE Aerospace $GE

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its GE Aerospace stake by 18% in the first quarter, purchasing 43,159 shares and bringing its holdings to 282,781 shares valued at approximately $80.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.77% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 16 Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell. GE Aerospace has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $390.59, above its reported trading price of $355.21.
• GE Aerospace exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.02 in EPS and $12.63 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 21.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, although an insider recently sold 8,096 shares.

Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,781 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,159 shares during the period. GE Aerospace comprises 1.1% of Groupe la Francaise's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in GE Aerospace were worth $80,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GE. High Falls Advisors Inc raised its holdings in GE Aerospace by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 1,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of GE Aerospace by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,699 shares of the company's stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of GE Aerospace by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC now owns 947 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the company's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 1,351 shares of the company's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $355.00) on shares of GE Aerospace in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of GE Aerospace from $335.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. President Capital reduced their price objective on shares of GE Aerospace from $355.00 to $342.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $421.00 price objective on shares of GE Aerospace and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of GE Aerospace from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GE Aerospace has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $390.59.

GE Aerospace Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of GE stock opened at $355.21 on Friday. GE Aerospace has a 12-month low of $261.71 and a 12-month high of $382.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $346.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.35.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.16. GE Aerospace had a return on equity of 40.56% and a net margin of 17.72%.The company had revenue of $12.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. GE Aerospace has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.650-7.850 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that GE Aerospace will post 7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GE Aerospace Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. GE Aerospace's dividend payout ratio is 22.14%.

Insider Activity at GE Aerospace

In other news, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 8,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.71, for a total transaction of $2,863,636.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 20,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,309,770.86. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

About GE Aerospace

GE Aerospace NYSE: GE is the aerospace business of General Electric, focused on the design, manufacture and support of aircraft engines, integrated propulsion systems and related aftermarket services. The company serves commercial airlines, airframers, business and general aviation operators, and defense customers, providing propulsion solutions for a broad range of aircraft types from single‑aisle airliners to widebody and military platforms.

Its product portfolio includes a family of commercial and military jet engines as well as spare parts, components and systems engineering.

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