Bank of Montreal Can Has $255.54 Million Stock Holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,532,121 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,381 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in General Electric were worth $255,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Electric by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE opened at $167.21 on Tuesday. General Electric has a twelve month low of $146.78 and a twelve month high of $214.21. 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 stock has a market cap of $179.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.96.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. 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 dividend yield of 0.86%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.73.

About General Electric

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.