General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price rose 1.2% on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $191.00 to $201.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. General Electric traded as high as $164.43 and last traded at $162.68. Approximately 1,760,240 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 7,560,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.81.

GE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Argus increased their price target on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 112,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after buying an additional 6,419 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,335,000 after purchasing an additional 28,985 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 24,042.9% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 10,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 10,098 shares during the period. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,432,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.60.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during 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%. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 36.72%.

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.