SPC Financial Inc. Grows Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,521 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 117.7% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter worth $304,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in General Electric by 615.1% in the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,044 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 19.5% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,905 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in General Electric by 221.5% in the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 11,933 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 8,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

GE opened at $202.61 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $192.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.77. 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 firm has a market cap of $217.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 1 year low of $126.78 and a 1 year 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 (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on GE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.