HM Payson & Co. Grows Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

HM Payson & Co. increased its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,903 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,412 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $4,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after buying an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,244,676,000 after buying an additional 156,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,314,080,000 after buying an additional 106,891 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of General Electric by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,128,571,000 after purchasing an additional 115,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of General Electric by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,122,966,000 after purchasing an additional 202,233 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of GE stock opened at $194.08 on Friday. General Electric has a 1 year low of $130.38 and a 1 year high of $212.19. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.02. The company has a market cap of $208.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted 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%. Research analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

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.