Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,063,262 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 185,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of General Electric worth $510,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,244,676,000 after buying an additional 156,272 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,314,080,000 after acquiring an additional 106,891 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in General Electric by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,128,571,000 after acquiring an additional 115,257 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in General Electric by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,122,966,000 after acquiring an additional 202,233 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.31.

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General Electric Stock Up 1.8 %

GE stock opened at $195.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $209.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a twelve month low of $131.91 and a twelve month high of $212.19. The company's 50 day moving average is $194.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.58.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 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%. Research analysts expect 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 issued a $0.36 dividend. 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 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric's payout ratio is presently 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.

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