Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 781,574 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,551,038 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 781,574 shares during the period. General Electric accounts for 1.2% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in General Electric were worth $1,259,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.33.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock opened at $182.60 on Thursday. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $146.78 and a fifty-two week high of $214.21. The company has a market capitalization of $195.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $197.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. 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. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

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.