New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 93,464 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,405,505 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 93,464 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in General Electric were worth $234,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 117.7% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $733,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in General Electric by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 269.8% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,318,000 after purchasing an additional 20,575 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 60.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,662 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 5,162 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock opened at $209.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a 12-month low of $118.13 and a 12-month high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

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.