General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Bought by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 139.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 648,021 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 376,971 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.06% of General Electric worth $103,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 37.9% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 211 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.4% during the second quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.2% during the second quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 0.4% during the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 16,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.7% in the second quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 3,912 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.38.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of General Electric stock traded down $2.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $163.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,142,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,716,475. 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 has a one year low of $84.42 and a one year high of $177.20. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $165.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.09. The stock has a market cap of $179.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. General Electric's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

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.