CASES
General Electric Co. (2009)
Class Period: Jan 23, 2009 to Feb 27, 2009
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 4, 2009 + Deadline passed
Summary of Case:
On March 20, 2009, Scott + Scott, LLP filed a securities class action against General Electric Co. (Ticker: GE) ("GE" or the "Company") on behalf of common stock purchasers from January 23, 2009 through February 27, 2009 (Class Period) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The complaint alleges that on January 23, 2009, GE's Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, stated unequivocally that GE would maintain its quarterly $.31 per share dividend, having sufficient cash on hand and cash flow to achieve that goal. Then on February 27, 2009, GE suddenly announced it was cutting the dividend to $.10 per share. On the first trading day after the dividend reduction announcement, GE shares fell from $8.51 per share the previous trading day to close at $7.60 per share. The shares have continued to plummet, currently trading at $6.30 per share, an almost 30% plunge. During the Class Period, Mr. Immelt sold over 52,000 shares of GE stock at $11.10 per share and other officers of the Company sold over 380,000 shares at that same price. Mr. Immelt then repurchased 50,000 shares after the announcement at between $7.51 and $8.30 per share. As a result, Mr. Immelt and the other officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false and misleading statements or knowingly or recklessly failing to know of those statements, sold GE shares at inflated prices based on those statements.
If you purchased this company's shares during the Class Period and suffered a loss or for further information about the case, please review the links below.