General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Bought by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,730 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in General Electric were worth $3,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GE. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,465,598,000 after buying an additional 3,719,894 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $359,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,413 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 206.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $278,247,000 after acquiring an additional 973,135 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Electric by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in General Electric by 12.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,106,786 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $774,458,000 after purchasing an additional 457,038 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $198.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. General Electric has a one year low of $122.48 and a one year high of $212.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $187.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.22.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. Analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.