General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lowered its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 587 shares during the quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in General Electric were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during the third 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 stake in shares of General Electric by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,244,676,000 after purchasing an additional 156,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,314,080,000 after purchasing an additional 106,891 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,128,571,000 after purchasing an additional 115,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,122,966,000 after purchasing an additional 202,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $202.61 on Thursday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $192.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.77. The company has a market cap of $217.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 12-month low of $126.78 and a 12-month high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

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.