Westpac Banking Corp Sells 11,287 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 33.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,309 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 11,287 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in General Electric were worth $3,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 177 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.73.

General Electric Stock Down 11.1 %

Shares of GE stock traded down $20.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $166.76. The stock had a trading volume of 18,160,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,400,110. General Electric has a 12-month low of $146.78 and a 12-month high of $214.21. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $201.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. General Electric's payout ratio 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.