Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 206,367 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,238,099 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 206,367 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of General Electric worth $206,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GE. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 177 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GE. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE opened at $203.90 on Wednesday. General Electric has a 12 month low of $133.99 and a 12 month high of $214.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

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%. As a group, analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

General Electric Company 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.