General Electric (NYSE:GE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) in a report released on Monday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the conglomerate's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on GE. Argus increased their price objective on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $172.29.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE traded up $2.14 on Monday, reaching $164.49. The company had a trading volume of 5,382,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,079,420. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.29. General Electric has a 1 year low of $77.93 and a 1 year high of $166.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business'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 value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company'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 transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following 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. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Halpern Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 968.4% during the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in General Electric by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.