General Electric (NYSE:GE) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $170.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GE shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their target price on General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,193,159,000. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $520,488,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 265.7% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,008,425 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $332,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,793 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $268,519,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 11,947.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,576,570 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $201,218,000 after buying an additional 1,563,484 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $162.35. 5,898,021 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,321,559. General Electric has a twelve month low of $77.28 and a twelve month high of $163.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.43.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. General Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 36.72%.

General Electric Company 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.