Premier Fund Managers Ltd Invests $8.23 Million in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 49,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $8,233,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $618,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 35,280 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,653,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 84.3% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 55,601 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,485,000 after purchasing an additional 25,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of General Electric by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 93,751 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock opened at $206.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $221.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. General Electric has a 1-year low of $133.99 and a 1-year high of $214.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.12.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

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.