Americana Partners LLC Purchases 13,266 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,659 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 13,266 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in General Electric were worth $9,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GE. Creative Planning increased its position in General Electric by 9.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 196,581 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $37,071,000 after buying an additional 16,258 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at $210,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of General Electric by 66.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,643 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,433 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 3.8% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,851 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,042 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of General Electric stock traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $208.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,967,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,420,081. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.01 and a 200 day moving average of $180.23. General Electric has a 52-week low of $118.13 and a 52-week high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share 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, equities analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three equities 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.