General Electric sliced its dividend in half Monday, saving the beleaguered industrial giant $4.2 billion annually as it seeks to regain its footing after more than a decade of lagging profits and poor stock performance.

Shareholders will see their payments on each share drop from 24 cents a quarter to 12 cents, just the third time the company has cut the payout in its 125-year history. The reduction comes as the manufacturing conglomerate put in motion a sweeping overhaul that includes plans to revamp its board of directors and sell off business units, including its storied lighting business that dates back to its founder, inventor Thomas Edison.

GE has long been one of Wall Street’s biggest dividend payers, behind the likes of Exxon and Apple. Everyone from individual investors to pensions to foundations have relied for decades on the GE dividend.

GE’s stock price dropped about 7 percent Monday to close at $19.02 a share.

General Electric Chief Executive Officer John Flannery said the decision was made to bolster the company’s cash holdings. GE’s estimated $7 billion in cash flow this year could not by itself cover the $8.4 billion dividend payout.

“We understand the importance of this decision to our shareowners and we have not made it lightly,” Flannery said in a statement.

Flannery made the announcement Monday at a highly anticipated investment analyst day in New York City, where he also unveiled a reorganization plan to get the former earnings powerhouse back on track.

He said the company would build its future around its aviation, health care and power segments. It will jettison most everything else. Those other parts include a locomotive business, a large investment in oil exploration company Baker Hughes and GE’s light bulb business.

General Electric, the only company remaining on the Dow Jones index from the original list, said Monday it will revamp its board of directors, one of the most prestigious panels in American business. It is reducing the number of seats from 18 to 12.

The manufacturing conglomerate had long been a pillar of American industry. It has 295,000 employees, competes in 180 countries and enjoyed wide respect for its management and its corporate governance. But the firm stumbled under the reign of chief executive Jeffrey Immelt, who retired earlier this year after 16 years in the top spot. Immelt had succeeded Jack Welch, a legend in corporate management circles.