Lincoln National Corp Increases Position in General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,193 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in General Electric were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 968.4% during the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in General Electric by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric 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 directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Electric Price Performance

General Electric stock traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $169.69. 1,225,362 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,793,359. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $185.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. General Electric has a 1-year low of $78.17 and a 1-year high of $170.80.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GE. Vertical Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

General Electric Profile

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.