Horizon Investments LLC Increases Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,844 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GE. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in General Electric by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in General Electric by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,795 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $14,483,000 after buying an additional 19,766 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in General Electric by 126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,156 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $625,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 10.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 27,571 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Down 0.6 %

GE stock opened at $200.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a PEG 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. General Electric has a one year low of $133.99 and a one year high of $212.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $196.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.38.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. 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 is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 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.