Bank of America Boosts General Electric (NYSE:GE) Price Target to $180.00

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its price objective raised by Bank of America from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GE. Barclays decreased their price objective on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on 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. decreased their price objective on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $167.29.

General Electric Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $159.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $174.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.55. General Electric has a 1-year low of $76.87 and a 1-year high of $163.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% during the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth 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 grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the first quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

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.