LPL Financial LLC Raises Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 918,344 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 76,121 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $153,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in General Electric by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 8,734 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in General Electric by 8.8% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 6.4% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 13,771 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its stake in General Electric by 14.7% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 5,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $220,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $210.56 on Tuesday. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $133.99 and a fifty-two week high of $212.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.47. The company has a market cap of $225.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

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.