General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 452,517 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,769 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $75,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased 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. Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE opened at $195.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $209.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.58. General Electric has a 1-year low of $131.91 and a 1-year high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

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.