Americana Partners LLC Acquires 13,266 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 54,659 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,266 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $9,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $8,181,801,000 after acquiring an additional 898,296 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,587,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,244,676,000 after acquiring an additional 156,272 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,878,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,314,080,000 after acquiring an additional 106,891 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in General Electric by 6.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in General Electric by 12.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.73.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $208.62 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a twelve month low of $117.43 and a twelve month high of $211.42.

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, beating 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, analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.36 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 18.70%.

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.