General Electric (NYSE:GE) Reaches New 1-Year High After Strong Earnings

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $202.50 and last traded at $204.64, with a volume of 637259 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $188.36.

The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on GE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.47.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 320,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $53,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $421,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in General Electric by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,004,609 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $167,559,000 after acquiring an additional 116,666 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group raised its stake in General Electric by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 1,655 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $221.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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.