Allianz SE Invests $7.48 Million in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 44,501 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $7,481,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $6,145,000. Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,937 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $5,350,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in General Electric by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 405,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,672,000 after buying an additional 116,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GE shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two 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 an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE:GE opened at $199.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. General Electric has a one year low of $133.99 and a one year high of $214.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.36.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share 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, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

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.