General Electric (NYSE:GE) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) in a report released on Sunday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

GE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $167.29.

General Electric Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of GE opened at $159.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $174.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $76.87 and a fifty-two week high of $163.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.55.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 through the SEC website. In other General Electric news, 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 transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in General Electric by 2.9% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the first quarter worth $6,948,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 243.8% during the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 154.8% during the first quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 767 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the first quarter worth $254,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.