Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,117,418 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 529,457 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.15% of General Electric worth $3,846,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $733,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $795,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 269.8% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,318,000 after acquiring an additional 20,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in General Electric by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,064,417 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $177,535,000 after purchasing an additional 29,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock traded down $16.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.19. 6,546,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,419,291. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. General Electric has a 52-week low of $146.21 and a 52-week high of $214.21. The stock has a market cap of $183.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $202.16 and its 200 day moving average is $187.13.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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%. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is an increase 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.