Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Circle Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $309,000. L.M. Kohn & Company bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. Acropolis Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $274,000. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE stock opened at $199.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $201.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.50. The stock has a market cap of $214.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 12 month low of $133.99 and a 12 month high of $214.21.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

About General Electric

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.