Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Cuts Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,382 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,120 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in General Electric were worth $13,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $178.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.49 and a 200 day moving average of $186.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $191.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. General Electric has a 52 week low of $148.83 and a 52 week high of $214.21.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GE. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $203.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.33.

About General Electric

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.