Citigroup Boosts General Electric (NYSE:GE) Price Target to $186.00

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $120.43 to $186.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

GE has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Argus upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $170.00.

General Electric Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of General Electric stock opened at $162.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. General Electric has a 12-month low of $77.28 and a 12-month high of $163.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.23, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.27.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Electric 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nadler Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the first quarter valued at about $206,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 48.1% in the first quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the first quarter valued at about $398,000. Finally, Guardian Investment Management raised its position in shares of General Electric by 10.4% in the first quarter. Guardian Investment Management now owns 12,980 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,278,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.