Howe & Rusling Inc. Reduces Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Howe & Rusling Inc. reduced its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,803 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $359,882,000 after buying an additional 1,593,413 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $194,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 206.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $278,247,000 after acquiring an additional 973,135 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Electric by 2.1% in the third 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. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in General Electric by 15,750.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 768,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $138,368,000 after acquiring an additional 763,739 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GE. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

GE opened at $206.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $221.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.12. General Electric has a 1 year low of $133.99 and a 1 year high of $214.21. 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 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 predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. 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. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

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.