Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 23,450 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 422,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,450 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $70,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 236 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 2,093 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its position in General Electric by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment 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, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.73.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE GE opened at $166.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $178.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. General Electric has a 52-week low of $146.78 and a 52-week high of $214.21. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $201.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.07.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

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.