Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 206.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 973,135 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.13% of General Electric worth $278,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the second quarter worth about $2,613,332,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,465,598,000 after acquiring an additional 3,719,894 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in General Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $580,200,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in General Electric by 21,069.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $598,391,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in General Electric by 18,693.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,614,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $256,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,434 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.93.

General Electric Price Performance

GE opened at $166.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $180.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.44. General Electric has a 1 year low of $95.92 and a 1 year high of $194.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. General Electric’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.68%.

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.