General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 0.5% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

General Electric (NYSE:GE) was up 0.5% during trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $212.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. General Electric traded as high as $187.07 and last traded at $187.05. Approximately 1,820,223 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 6,602,003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.16.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in General Electric by 2,818.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after buying an additional 12,312,648 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in General Electric by 9.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of General Electric by 221.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,250,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the second quarter worth about $580,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $205.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.44, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. General Electric’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

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.