HM Payson & Co. Acquires 2,412 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,903 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $4,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GE. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $733,000. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $8,181,801,000 after purchasing an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 269.8% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,318,000 after purchasing an additional 20,575 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 60.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,662 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 5,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in General Electric by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 25,808 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on GE shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE GE opened at $194.08 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.02. General Electric has a 52 week low of $130.38 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 has a market capitalization of $208.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG 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 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 anticipate that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.