Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Has $1.64 Million Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lowered its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,815 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

General Electric Trading Up 2.6 %

GE opened at $197.39 on Friday. General Electric has a 1-year low of $131.91 and a 1-year high of $212.19. 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 company has a market cap 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $195.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.82.

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, beating 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%. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GE shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

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.