General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 0.7%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares were up 0.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $165.30 and last traded at $163.76. Approximately 1,178,845 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 7,908,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Vertical Research started coverage on General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $179.64 billion, a PE ratio of 53.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.93 and a 200 day moving average of $137.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 6,419 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased 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 valued at $33,335,000 after purchasing an additional 28,985 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 10.9% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 9.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,846,000. 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.