Marshall Wace LLP Cuts Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,955,699 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 511,518 shares during the quarter. General Electric makes up about 0.6% of Marshall Wace LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.27% of General Electric worth $324,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in General Electric by 808.1% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 336 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Motco boosted its stake in General Electric by 143.0% during the 2nd quarter. Motco now owns 294 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of General Electric from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.93.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $119.29. The stock had a trading volume of 421,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,770,918. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.28. General Electric has a twelve month low of $59.57 and a twelve month high of $123.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $113.39 and its 200 day moving average is $111.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. General Electric had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $17.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

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

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.

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