General Electric (NYSE:GE) Given New $180.00 Price Target at Bank of America

General Electric (NYSE:GE) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $165.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 13.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.71.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GE traded down $3.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $158.75. 6,714,725 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,117,630. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85. General Electric has a 52 week low of $76.87 and a 52 week high of $163.65.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 968.4% during the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.