Argus Boosts General Electric (NYSE:GE) Price Target to $180.00

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its price objective upped by Argus from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on GE. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a buy rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $167.29.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $159.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $174.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29. General Electric has a 12 month low of $76.87 and a 12 month high of $163.65. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.55.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company’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 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 $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 directly 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. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 47.4% during the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in General Electric by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 185,178 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $32,504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,266 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the first quarter worth $6,948,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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. 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.