Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 360 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,005 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GE. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $199.90 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $186.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.98. The stock has a market cap of $214.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.22. General Electric has a 52-week low of $119.88 and a 52-week high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.70%.

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.