Sierra Ocean LLC Buys New Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 697 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 91.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,465,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719,894 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 21,069.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $598,391,000 after buying an additional 3,158,153 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $359,882,000 after buying an additional 1,593,413 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 206.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $278,247,000 after buying an additional 973,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $8,181,801,000 after acquiring an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE stock opened at $208.62 on Monday. General Electric has a twelve month low of $117.43 and a twelve month high of $211.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Melius Research lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.73.

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.