Abacus Planning Group Inc. Decreases Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,609 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on GE shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock opened at $210.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.23. General Electric has a 52 week low of $118.13 and a 52 week 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.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.70%.

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.