Updating General Electric Co.

Article Excerpt

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $28 (New York symbol GE; IncomeGrowth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 9.2 billion; Market cap: $257.6 billion; Dividend yield: 3.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www. ge.com) is a leading maker of industrial machinery, including jet engines, power plant equipment and locomotives. It also makes medical gear and lighting products. With the January 2017 payment, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 4.3%, to $0.24 a share from $0.23. The new annual rate of $0.96 yields 3.4%. U.S. and European regulators have now approved GE’s plan to merge its oil and gas equipment business with Baker Hughes Inc. (New York symbol BHI). That firm sells a variety of services and products that help exploration companies extract more oil and gas from their wells. GE will own 62.5% of the merged company, which willl keep the Baker Hughes name. It will trade on the New York exchange. GE will also pay Baker Hughes $7.4 billion. To satisfy regulators, the company…