General Electric (NYSE:GE) Sets New 1-Year High at $166.92

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $166.92 and last traded at $167.26, with a volume of 655171 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $164.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.29.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $183.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day moving average is $162.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.73.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.72%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JB Capital LLC grew its position in General Electric by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in General Electric by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,871 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.