StockNews.com Begins Coverage on General Electric (NYSE:GE)

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

GE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised General Electric from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $160.07.

General Electric Price Performance

Shares of GE opened at $162.62 on Friday. General Electric has a 12-month low of $76.87 and a 12-month high of $163.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $159.94 and its 200 day moving average is $135.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $177.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 15,876 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,133 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,344 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. PFG Advisors boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,152 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $218,000. 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.