General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) were down 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $160.31 and last traded at $160.72. Approximately 1,737,391 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 8,059,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on GE shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Vertical Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.00.

General Electric Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a PE ratio of 53.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.27.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. 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 analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,613,000 after purchasing an additional 6,419 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in General Electric by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,335,000 after purchasing an additional 28,985 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,432,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,846,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.