Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 299.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,402 shares of the company's stock after purchasing 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 SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in GE Aerospace by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 126,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,182,000 after purchasing an additional 34,490 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in GE Aerospace by 280.4% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 49,537 shares of the company's stock worth $8,262,000 after buying an additional 36,514 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 21,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,628,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 191,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,886,000 after buying an additional 40,185 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of GE Aerospace from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on GE Aerospace from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on GE Aerospace from $207.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of GE Aerospace in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.92.

Insider Activity at GE Aerospace

In related news, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,766,899.35. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,270,264.20. The trade was a 26.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

GE Aerospace Stock Performance

Shares of GE Aerospace stock traded up $0.45 on Wednesday, hitting $222.03. 866,837 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,338,418. GE Aerospace has a 1 year low of $150.20 and a 1 year high of $223.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.77 billion, a PE ratio of 37.02, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.31.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.06 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

GE Aerospace Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from GE Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. GE Aerospace's payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

GE Aerospace 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.