General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,146,272 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 24,488 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.11% of General Electric worth $191,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,375,439,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 505.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $359,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,413 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $194,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in General Electric by 206.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $278,247,000 after acquiring an additional 973,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Electric by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after acquiring an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.31.

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General Electric Trading Down 6.2 %

Shares of GE stock traded down $12.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $187.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,747,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,455,379. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $202.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.12. General Electric has a 12-month low of $138.01 and a 12-month high of $214.21.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS 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 represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

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.