Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 324,885 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $54,344,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $733,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $795,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 269.8% in the 3rd 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. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,064,417 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $177,535,000 after purchasing an additional 29,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in General Electric by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,662 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 5,162 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE opened at $166.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. General Electric has a 1 year low of $146.78 and a 1 year high of $214.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $201.56 and its 200 day moving average is $187.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released 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 return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.73.

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.