General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Purchased by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,093 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $203.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $197.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.67. 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 $133.99 and a twelve month high of $212.19. The stock has a market cap of $218.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. Equities research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. 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.