General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Acquired by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 53.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,484 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,268 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GE. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Melius Research upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.73.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

General Electric stock opened at $208.62 on Friday. General Electric has a 52-week low of $117.43 and a 52-week high of $211.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.00 and a 200-day moving average of $178.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a PEG 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 (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 is presently 18.70%.

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.