Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,309 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,287 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in General Electric were worth $3,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GE. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $733,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $795,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 269.8% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,318,000 after buying an additional 20,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 60.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,662 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 5,162 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Down 2.0 %

General Electric stock opened at $199.80 on Thursday. General Electric has a 52-week low of $138.01 and a 52-week high of $214.21. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $214.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.12.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. 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 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

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.