Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Buys 1,500 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,884 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,465,598,000 after acquiring an additional 3,719,894 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 505.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $359,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,413 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 206.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $278,247,000 after purchasing an additional 973,135 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in General Electric by 2.1% during 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. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in General Electric by 12.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,106,786 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $774,458,000 after purchasing an additional 457,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $199.90 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $186.57 and its 200 day moving average is $180.72. General Electric has a 12-month low of $119.88 and a 12-month high of $212.19. The stock has a market cap of $214.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 2.62 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 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 0.72%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

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.