Wells Fargo & Company Cuts General Electric (NYSE:GE) Price Target to $203.00

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $203.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the conglomerate's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.73.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $181.60. 6,490,484 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,478,609. The stock has a market cap of $194.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $198.36 and its 200-day moving average is $186.59. General Electric has a 1-year low of $146.78 and a 1-year high of $214.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric's payout ratio is 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 564.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 226 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $502,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 130,001 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $24,516,000 after purchasing an additional 12,739 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at $1,374,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently 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.