Brokerages Set General Electric (NYSE:GE) Price Target at $170.00

General Electric (NYSE:GE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $172.29.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen raised shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock.

General Electric Price Performance

General Electric stock opened at $161.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $177.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.03, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $161.29 and its 200 day moving average is $137.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. General Electric has a 52-week low of $77.93 and a 52-week high of $166.26.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. General Electric’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric 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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,613,000 after purchasing an additional 6,419 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in General Electric by 12.5% in 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 in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,432,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,846,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.