Kovack Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,050 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 301 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,096 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 15,880 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,649,000 after acquiring an additional 4,302 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 9,962 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $352,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,254,637 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $376,051,000 after acquiring an additional 37,884 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $201.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $188.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.58. General Electric has a 1-year low of $122.48 and a 1-year high of $212.19. The company has a market cap of $216.34 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.21.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

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.