Washington Trust Bank Purchases Shares of 1,040 GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)

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

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in GE Aerospace by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,815,318 shares of the company's stock worth $14,980,297,000 after buying an additional 410,172 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in GE Aerospace by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,117,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,846,587,000 after acquiring an additional 529,457 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of GE Aerospace in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,375,439,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in GE Aerospace by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,046,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,675,717,000 after purchasing an additional 553,104 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at GE Aerospace

In related news, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of GE Aerospace stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.67, for a total value of $321,473.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,766,899.35. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 11,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,270,264.20. The trade was a 26.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

GE Aerospace Price Performance

NYSE GE traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $247.11. 5,974,468 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,514,721. The company has a market capitalization of $263.52 billion, a PE ratio of 38.43, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.77. GE Aerospace has a 52-week low of $150.20 and a 52-week high of $260.55. The firm's 50-day moving average is $235.34 and its 200-day moving average is $206.79.

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

GE Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. GE Aerospace's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on GE Aerospace from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Northcoast Research downgraded 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 target price on GE Aerospace and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of GE Aerospace from $207.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.75.

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.