Principal Securities Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 57.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,093 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 6,207 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 1,425 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management increased its position in shares of General Electric by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 2,708 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GE. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE stock traded down $8.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $199.90. The stock had a trading volume of 5,410,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,419,847. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $212.19. The firm has a market cap of $214.55 billion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.22. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $186.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.72.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

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.