Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,164,388 General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,164,388 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $194,208,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GE. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

General Electric stock opened at $194.08 on Friday. General Electric has a 52 week low of $130.38 and a 52 week high of $212.19. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.74%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GE. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

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.