Advisors Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,558 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,264 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $3,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 156,272 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 1.4% during 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 holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 115,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $1,122,966,000 after buying an additional 202,233 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE stock opened at $203.92 on Friday. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $133.99 and a fifty-two week high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.67.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given 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 0.71%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.