Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,571 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 14,289 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $198.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.63. General Electric has a 12 month low of $125.26 and a 12 month high of $212.19.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio 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.