Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Acquires 10,028 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,890 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 10,028 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in General Electric were worth $2,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Steward Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Motco increased its holdings 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 period. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings 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 period. 74.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on General Electric from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Electric from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on General Electric from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, TheStreet raised General Electric from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Electric Trading Up 2.0 %

GE traded up $2.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $152.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,246,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,177,435. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $81.65 and a fifty-two week high of $152.25. The stock has a market cap of $165.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50-day moving average is $132.28 and its 200-day moving average is $120.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 28th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 27th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.82%.

General Electric Company 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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