General Electric (NYSE:GE) Position Increased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,405 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 899 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in General Electric were worth $10,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 968.4% during the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GE shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Argus boosted their target price on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.29.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE traded up $1.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,176,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,850,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.73. General Electric has a one year low of $78.17 and a one year high of $170.80. The firm has a market cap of $185.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

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.