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

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its price target upped 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.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.80.

General Electric Stock Performance

GE stock opened at $196.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19. General Electric has a 1 year low of $103.75 and a 1 year high of $207.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $174.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.77.

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

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.