Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 289.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 211,089 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,909 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $26,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 8,322 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its holdings in General Electric by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 4,031 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in General Electric by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,027 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GE. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.29.

General Electric Price Performance

GE traded up $1.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,968,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,987,890. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $161.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.25. General Electric has a 1-year low of $77.93 and a 1-year high of $166.26.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.