General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 5.9% After Earnings Beat

General Electric (NYSE:GE) rose 5.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $160.02 and last traded at $159.09. Approximately 6,384,708 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 7,956,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.19.

The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

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

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,613,000 after buying an additional 6,419 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in General Electric by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,335,000 after buying an additional 28,985 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 10.9% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,087,000 after buying an additional 10,722 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,432,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 51,152.3% during the third quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 22,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,493,000 after buying an additional 22,507 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Electric Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $177.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $159.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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.