PGGM Investments Increases Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

PGGM Investments raised its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,805 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 9,925 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in General Electric were worth $17,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GE. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE GE opened at $195.21 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.58. General Electric has a 12 month low of $131.91 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $209.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 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.