Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 74.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,369,932 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 586,045 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of General Electric worth $228,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 505.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $359,882,000 after buying an additional 1,593,413 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $194,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 206.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $278,247,000 after purchasing an additional 973,135 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of General Electric by 15,750.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 768,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $138,368,000 after buying an additional 763,739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on GE shares. 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE GE opened at $203.99 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $198.63 and a 200 day moving average of $185.15. The company has a market capitalization of $218.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G 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 $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

General Electric Company 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.