B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Raises Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,383 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 9,393 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in General Electric were worth $7,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,815,318 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $14,980,297,000 after buying an additional 410,172 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in General Electric by 2.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,244,676,000 after acquiring an additional 156,272 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $2,375,439,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,314,080,000 after purchasing an additional 106,891 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Down 11.1 %

Shares of GE stock traded down $20.87 on Friday, hitting $166.76. The stock had a trading volume of 18,160,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,437,472. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $201.56 and a 200 day moving average of $187.02. General Electric has a 12-month low of $146.78 and a 12-month high of $214.21. The stock has a market cap of $178.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 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%. As a group, analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GE shares. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.31.

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.