General Electric (NYSE:GE) Given New $205.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $192.00 to $205.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Vertical Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a buy rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com started coverage on General Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $183.93.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $169.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. General Electric has a 1 year low of $84.42 and a 1 year high of $177.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.