Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,040 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,743 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in General Electric were worth $9,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in General Electric by 0.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in General Electric by 1.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in General Electric by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,128,571,000 after buying an additional 115,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in General Electric by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,122,966,000 after buying an additional 202,233 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GE opened at $200.74 on Wednesday. General Electric has a 52-week low of $133.99 and a 52-week high of $212.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $196.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.38. The stock has a market cap of $215.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. 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 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

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.