General Electric (NYSE:GE) Sets New 52-Week High at $180.48

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $180.48 and last traded at $178.88, with a volume of 727320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.14.

General Electric Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $194.87 billion, a PE ratio of 58.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the second quarter worth about $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 2,818.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,237,930,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312,648 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,193,159,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in General Electric by 221.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,250,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares in the last quarter. 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.