Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,170 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $12,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GE. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after buying an additional 3,512 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $798,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 272,051 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $51,303,000 after buying an additional 7,670 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 59.7% during the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 3,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 15.7% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,407 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,414,000 after buying an additional 3,179 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GE. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Down 1.0 %

GE opened at $194.08 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $208.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 52 week low of $130.38 and a 52 week high of $212.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.20.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 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.