General Electric (NYSE:GE) Hits New 52-Week High at $166.92

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $166.92 and last traded at $167.26, with a volume of 655171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen upgraded General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.29.

General Electric Trading Up 2.4 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.93 and a 200-day moving average of $138.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $183.86 billion, a PE ratio of 54.84, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly 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 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’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 value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $1,193,159,000. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $520,488,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $268,519,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in General Electric by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,881,752 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $623,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,327 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 11,947.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,576,570 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $201,218,000 after buying an additional 1,563,484 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.