Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $6.60 Million Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 59.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,574 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,777 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $6,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GE. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 156.6% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 8,734 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 5,330 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 8.8% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 13,771 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 5,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GE. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Up 3.1 %

GE stock opened at $210.56 on Tuesday. General Electric has a 52 week low of $133.99 and a 52 week high of $212.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $225.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s 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.