Meritage Group LP Has $364.16 Million Stock Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Meritage Group LP lifted its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,294,044 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 110,000 shares during the quarter. General Electric accounts for 8.6% of Meritage Group LP's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Meritage Group LP owned approximately 0.30% of General Electric worth $364,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GE. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $27,925,000 after purchasing an additional 27,682 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the first quarter worth about $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.83% of the company's stock.

General Electric Trading Up 1.1 %

GE traded up $1.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $153.33. 5,639,422 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,069,517. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.25. General Electric has a 12-month low of $81.65 and a 12-month high of $153.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.49 and a 200 day moving average of $120.79. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on General Electric from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $144.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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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