Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 20,944 General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $2,673,000. General Electric comprises 1.0% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in General Electric by 10.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $27,925,000 after buying an additional 27,682 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on GE. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.67.

General Electric Stock Down 1.8 %

General Electric stock traded down $2.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.63. The company had a trading volume of 6,851,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,557,198. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. General Electric has a 1 year low of $74.78 and a 1 year high of $158.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $157.82 and a 200 day moving average of $133.04. The stock has a market cap of $169.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. General Electric's payout ratio is presently 3.82%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

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. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

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.