Waddell & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)

Key Points

• Waddell & Associates LLC has acquired a new stake of 2,615 shares in GE Aerospace, valued at approximately $523,000, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Recent analyst ratings varied, with Northeast Research downgrading GE Aerospace to a "neutral" rating, while other firms such as UBS and Citigroup upgraded their price targets and maintained "buy" ratings.
• GE Aerospace reported strong earnings, with $1.66 EPS exceeding estimates and a revenue increase of 21.2% year-over-year, further solidifying its market position.

Waddell & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 23,611.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,065,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,013,959,000 after acquiring an additional 5,044,632 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in GE Aerospace by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,581,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $597,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673,365 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of GE Aerospace by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,544,757 shares of the company's stock worth $1,591,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204,910 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 66,823,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,145,570,000 after purchasing an additional 965,012 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,453,651 shares of the company's stock worth $576,034,000 after acquiring an additional 838,954 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GE. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of GE Aerospace from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of GE Aerospace from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of GE Aerospace from $300.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of GE Aerospace from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $296.00 price target (up previously from $227.00) on shares of GE Aerospace in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $232.92.

GE Aerospace Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $271.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,603,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,202,147. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $249.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $287.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.37. GE Aerospace has a 1 year low of $150.20 and a 1 year high of $273.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.49 billion. GE Aerospace had a net margin of 18.64% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The firm's revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

GE Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. GE Aerospace's payout ratio is 20.08%.

GE Aerospace Company Profile

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.