Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,808 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,184 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Electric were worth $7,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in General Electric by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,925,000 after buying an additional 27,682 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.9% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the first quarter worth $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. 74.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $119.93. 4,139,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,910,168. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $59.57 and a fifty-two week high of $120.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $130.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.26.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $17.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.46 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 26th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 25th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GE. Argus lifted their price objective on General Electric from $112.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on General Electric from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Oppenheimer cut shares of General Electric from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $141.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

General Electric 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.