Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Purchases 27,596 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,979 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,596 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $14,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth about $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Trading Up 1.9 %

General Electric stock opened at $202.61 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $126.78 and a 12 month high of $212.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.77. The firm has a market cap of $217.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GE shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.