Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Buys 612 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. raised its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 612 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter worth $30,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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 decreased their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $192.28 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $195.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.64. The company has a market cap of $206.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a twelve month low of $131.91 and a twelve month high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.