Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 378.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,676 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,886 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $8,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 1.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,766,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,128,571,000 after buying an additional 115,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,732,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,122,966,000 after acquiring an additional 202,233 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $192.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $206.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a 12-month low of $131.91 and a 12-month high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

General Electric Company 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.