General Electric (NYSE:GE) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $207.84 and last traded at $206.53, with a volume of 655724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Melius Research upped their target price on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.73.

General Electric Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $179.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.55. The company has a market cap of $222.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.70%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GE. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in General Electric by 8.4% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,855 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 18,927 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,569,000 after acquiring an additional 2,258 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. bought a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in General Electric by 17.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 141,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,720,000 after acquiring an additional 21,019 shares in 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.