Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,815,318 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 410,172 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.37% of General Electric worth $14,980,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of General Electric by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 177 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE opened at $203.99 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $218.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $133.99 and a fifty-two week high of $212.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.01.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Company 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.