Smithfield Trust Co Has $3.52 Million Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Smithfield Trust Co lowered its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,122 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,340 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co's holdings in General Electric were worth $3,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 156,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 1.4% during 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in General Electric by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,128,571,000 after purchasing an additional 115,257 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,122,966,000 after purchasing an additional 202,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GE. Citigroup lifted their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE traded up $3.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.61. The stock had a trading volume of 6,219,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,314,766. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. General Electric has a 1-year low of $126.78 and a 1-year high of $212.19. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $192.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.77.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS 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 $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.