Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,430 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 84,979 shares during the period. General Electric makes up about 0.5% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund's holdings in General Electric were worth $35,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Motco boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 143.0% during the second quarter. Motco now owns 294 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 43.4% during the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 74.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GE. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of General Electric from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on General Electric from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on General Electric from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Electric from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, TheStreet cut General Electric from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.43.

General Electric Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:GE traded down $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $128.16. The stock had a trading volume of 749,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,459,284. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $120.39 and a 200 day moving average of $114.59. The stock has a market cap of $139.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.35. General Electric has a 12-month low of $72.20 and a 12-month high of $129.20.

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

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. General Electric's payout ratio is currently 3.61%.

About General Electric

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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