JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the conglomerate's stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.80.

General Electric Stock Down 2.1 %

General Electric stock traded down $4.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $196.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,459,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,298,942. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85. General Electric has a 52-week low of $103.75 and a 52-week high of $207.65. The firm's 50 day moving average is $174.93 and its 200 day moving average is $174.77. The company has a market cap of $212.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. General Electric's payout ratio is 19.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the firm's 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 owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 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.