Norges Bank Makes New $2.38 Billion Investment in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,242,097 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,375,439,000. Norges Bank owned 1.33% of General Electric as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 505.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $359,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,413 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $194,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 206.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $278,247,000 after purchasing an additional 973,135 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted 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 worth $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 15,750.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 768,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $138,368,000 after purchasing an additional 763,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $207.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 52 week low of $133.99 and a 52 week high of $214.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $200.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

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.