Washington Trust Bank Makes New $208,000 Investment in GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)

Washington Trust Bank acquired a new position in GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in GE Aerospace by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 236 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 334 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 2,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 46.0% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 165 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. lifted its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 4,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

GE Aerospace Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GE traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $247.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,289,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,506,732. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. GE Aerospace has a 52-week low of $150.20 and a 52-week high of $260.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $236.28 and a 200 day moving average of $207.07. The company has a market cap of $263.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.37.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.20. GE Aerospace had a return on equity of 29.15% and a net margin of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.06 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GE Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. GE Aerospace's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GE shares. Northcoast Research lowered shares of GE Aerospace from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $275.00 price objective on shares of GE Aerospace and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of GE Aerospace from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on GE Aerospace from $207.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.75.

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.