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

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

GE has been the topic of several other research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Sunday, April 21st. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a buy rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $170.00.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE opened at $162.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $160.72 and its 200-day moving average is $136.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.85. General Electric has a 12-month low of $77.28 and a 12-month high of $163.65.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.93 EPS 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Halpern Financial Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 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.