Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 58,040 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,743 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in General Electric were worth $9,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in General Electric by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 177 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $200.74 on Wednesday. General Electric has a one year low of $133.99 and a one year high of $212.19. The company has a market cap of $215.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.38.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS 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, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric 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.