Royal Bank of Canada Increases General Electric (NYSE:GE) Price Target to $175.00

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

GE has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet raised General Electric from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $170.00.

General Electric Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $162.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $177.67 billion, a PE ratio of 53.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. General Electric has a 12-month low of $77.28 and a 12-month high of $163.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.09.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

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

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.