Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Purchases 7,266 Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,178 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 7,266 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in General Electric were worth $32,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Walker Asset Management LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its stake in General Electric by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,067 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Monday, April 29th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $191.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.00.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE GE traded up $4.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $165.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,395,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,619,203. The stock has a market cap of $180.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company's 50-day moving average is $162.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.21. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $79.76 and a fifty-two week high of $170.80.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 36.72%.

About General Electric

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.

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