Smithfield Trust Co Has $3.52 Million Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Smithfield Trust Co lessened its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,122 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,340 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in General Electric were worth $3,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in General Electric by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,181,801,000 after acquiring an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,244,676,000 after acquiring an additional 156,272 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,314,080,000 after purchasing an additional 106,891 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,128,571,000 after purchasing an additional 115,257 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,122,966,000 after purchasing an additional 202,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

General Electric stock opened at $198.82 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $213.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.22. General Electric has a one year low of $125.26 and a one year high of $212.19.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 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.