Vicus Capital Raises Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Vicus Capital increased its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in General Electric were worth $225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 156,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 106,891 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 6.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,556,515 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,236,428,000 after buying an additional 413,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in General Electric by 12.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,106,786 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $774,458,000 after buying an additional 457,038 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $208.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $223.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. General Electric has a 1-year low of $117.43 and a 1-year high of $211.42.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Melius Research lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.