Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Acquires 2,496 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,031 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares during the period. General Electric makes up 0.8% of Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV's holdings in General Electric were worth $3,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

General Electric Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GE traded down $1.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $208.93. 2,967,197 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,420,081. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.23. General Electric has a 52-week low of $118.13 and a 52-week high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.22.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GE. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.31.

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.