Abacus Planning Group Inc. Decreases Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,609 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:GE opened at $210.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $225.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.23. General Electric has a 12-month low of $118.13 and a 12-month high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. Equities analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 18.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Profile

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.