General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership cut its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 651,614 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 462,185 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.06% of General Electric worth $108,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 505.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,908,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $359,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,413 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $194,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 206.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $278,247,000 after purchasing an additional 973,135 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in 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. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in General Electric by 15,750.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 768,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $138,368,000 after buying an additional 763,739 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE opened at $206.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $221.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $201.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.12. General Electric has a twelve month low of $133.99 and a twelve month high of $214.21.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. As a group, research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

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.