Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 403,720 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,217 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in General Electric were worth $51,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 122,242.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,438,063 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $878,644,000 after purchasing an additional 13,427,079 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $635,274,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Electric by 17.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,490,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,639,533,000 after acquiring an additional 7,157,356 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $520,488,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in General Electric by 265.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,008,425 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $332,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,793 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of several research reports. TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Vertical Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.07.

General Electric Stock Up 2.0 %

GE stock opened at $156.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $171.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.53 and its 200 day moving average is $133.81. General Electric has a one year low of $76.38 and a one year high of $158.68.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.38%.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.