AlphaQuest LLC Sells 2,057 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,099 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,057 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 91.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,465,598,000 after buying an additional 3,719,894 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 505.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $359,882,000 after buying an additional 1,593,413 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $194,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 206.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $278,247,000 after buying an additional 973,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Electric by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,181,801,000 after buying an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $195.21 on Thursday. General Electric has a 1 year low of $131.91 and a 1 year high of $212.19. The firm has a market cap of $209.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.58.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. 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.