General Electric (NYSE:GE) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Bank of America

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Sunday, April 21st. They set a hold rating on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of General Electric from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $170.00.

General Electric Stock Performance

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

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. General Electric’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the third quarter valued at about $218,000. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 9.6% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 6.9% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 26,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,923,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 25.8% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,872 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.