General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Purchased by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,119 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $210.28 on Thursday. General Electric has a twelve month low of $118.13 and a twelve month high of $212.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $225.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.23.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s payout ratio is 18.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GE. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.