General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Heritage Wealth Management Inc.

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. decreased its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,222 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,244,676,000 after acquiring an additional 156,272 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,314,080,000 after acquiring an additional 106,891 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in General Electric by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,128,571,000 after acquiring an additional 115,257 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,556,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,236,428,000 after acquiring an additional 413,388 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $207.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a twelve month low of $124.08 and a twelve month high of $212.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $190.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.10. The firm has a market cap of $222.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.22.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.69%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.