Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,955 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in General Electric were worth $17,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

General Electric Stock Down 4.0 %

GE stock traded down $8.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $200.37. 2,976,172 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,341,005. General Electric has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $212.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $215.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $185.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.43.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.31.

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.