General Electric (NYSE:GE) Sets New 52-Week High at $158.69

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $158.69 and last traded at $156.83, with a volume of 829589 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $154.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Vertical Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.07.

General Electric Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. General Electric's payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Halpern Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.