California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 147,410 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,862,728 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 147,410 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in General Electric were worth $310,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $795,000. State Street Corp grew 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 valued at $8,181,801,000 after acquiring an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 269.8% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,318,000 after acquiring an additional 20,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 60.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,662 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 5,162 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Trading Down 3.0 %

GE opened at $199.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.50. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $133.99 and a fifty-two week high of $214.21. The company has a market cap of $214.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric 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.