First National Trust Co Boosts Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

First National Trust Co increased its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,079 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in General Electric were worth $680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,244,676,000 after purchasing an additional 156,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,314,080,000 after purchasing an additional 106,891 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in General Electric by 3.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $197.39 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $195.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.91. The company has a market capitalization of $211.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. 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 has a 52 week low of $131.91 and a 52 week high of $212.19.

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 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%. As a group, analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.