General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,200 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in General Electric were worth $9,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in General Electric by 91.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,465,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719,894 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 21,069.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $598,391,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158,153 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 505.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $359,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,413 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 206.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $278,247,000 after buying an additional 973,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Electric by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after buying an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $208.62. 4,267,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,009,583. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $182.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.25. General Electric has a 1-year low of $117.43 and a 1-year high of $211.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $223.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.39 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. 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 0.69%. General Electric's payout ratio is currently 18.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

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.