General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 25.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 799,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 163,710 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in General Electric were worth $127,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in General Electric by 2,818.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after purchasing an additional 12,312,648 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $1,193,159,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in General Electric by 221.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,250,079,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907,530 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. purchased a new position in General Electric during the first quarter valued at $385,745,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $169.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.53. General Electric has a 1-year low of $84.42 and a 1-year high of $177.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.64, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on GE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.14.

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.