Granite Investment Partners LLC Purchases 41,755 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 40.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,452 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 41,755 shares during the quarter. General Electric comprises about 1.0% of Granite Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Granite Investment Partners LLC's holdings in General Electric were worth $24,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,400,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,245 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,098 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 18,616 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,308,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $203.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of General Electric from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $213.33.

General Electric Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE GE traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $181.88. 4,927,432 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,460,492. 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 stock has a market cap of $195.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.58. General Electric has a one year low of $146.78 and a one year high of $214.21.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

About General Electric

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.