Principal Securities Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 57.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,093 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,207 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter worth $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE opened at $208.62 on Tuesday. General Electric has a 1-year low of $117.43 and a 1-year high of $211.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $223.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.40.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. Equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.39 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 dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.73.

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.