AGP Franklin LLC Makes New Investment in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,563 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $2,375,439,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,544,757 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,591,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204,910 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $194,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in General Electric by 206.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $278,247,000 after purchasing an additional 973,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 66,823,968 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $11,145,570,000 after purchasing an additional 965,012 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Electric from $203.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $213.33.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $181.88. 4,927,432 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,453,364. General Electric has a 1-year low of $146.78 and a 1-year high of $214.21. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $195.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $196.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.50.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.