Allstate Corp Takes $5.35 Million Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,077 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,350,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in General Electric by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 405,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,672,000 after purchasing an additional 116,348 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,233,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 48,788 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in General Electric by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 631,707 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $105,362,000 after purchasing an additional 88,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of GE opened at $199.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. General Electric has a 52 week low of $133.99 and a 52 week high of $214.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $201.52 and a 200-day moving average of $186.36.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted 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 return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 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.