GWN Securities Inc. Invests $1.08 Million in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in General Electric by 2.1% during 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,244,676,000 after buying an additional 156,272 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,314,080,000 after buying an additional 106,891 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,128,571,000 after buying an additional 115,257 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,122,966,000 after buying an additional 202,233 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price 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 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $197.39 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $195.54 and a 200-day moving average of $183.91. General Electric has a 1 year low of $131.91 and a 1 year high of $212.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 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.