1,301 Shares in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Purchased by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,301 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP now owns 62,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. increased its position in General Electric by 1,457.9% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 61,364 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,235,000 after buying an additional 57,425 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 27,886 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 4,943 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 73,170 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,204,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 148,141 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $24,709,000 after acquiring an additional 11,609 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Down 0.1 %

GE stock opened at $191.89 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $193.99 and its 200 day moving average is $183.50. The stock has a market cap of $205.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. 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 1-year low of $131.14 and a 1-year high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GE. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has a consensus 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.