General Electric (NYSE:GE) Increases Dividend to $0.36 Per Share

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.36 per share by the conglomerate on Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28.

General Electric has increased its dividend by an average of 51.8% annually over the last three years. General Electric has a payout ratio of 17.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect General Electric to earn $6.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.4%.

General Electric Trading Up 0.8 %

General Electric stock traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.94. 4,395,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,586,972. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $118.13 and a fifty-two week high of $212.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $183.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Melius Research lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.31.

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.