Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Raises Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 64,398 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 10,927 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in General Electric were worth $10,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GE. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 97.5% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GE stock opened at $180.32 on Wednesday. General Electric has a 1 year low of $84.42 and a 1 year high of $182.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $167.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $197.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.12, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.14.

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.