General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Purchased by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 58.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,243 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in General Electric were worth $4,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,444,222 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $11,288,136,000 after buying an additional 550,996 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of General Electric by 9.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 2,818.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312,648 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $1,193,159,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in General Electric by 221.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,250,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of General Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.38.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,295,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,756,916. The firm has a market cap of $191.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. General Electric has a 1-year low of $84.42 and a 1-year high of $177.20. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $165.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.14.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The business's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

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.

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