S&CO Inc. Reduces Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

S&CO Inc. reduced its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,703 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,155 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $6,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric during the third quarter worth $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric during the third quarter worth $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the third quarter worth $30,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GE shares. Bank of America raised their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $191.61 on Tuesday. General Electric has a twelve month low of $130.38 and a twelve month high of $212.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $193.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.35.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results 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, research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

General Electric 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.