Investors Buy Large Volume of General Electric Call Options (NYSE:GE)

General Electric (NYSE:GE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 28,853 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average daily volume of 19,190 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Dopkins Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Dopkins Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 18.3% in the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 4.2% in the first quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 2,173 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter worth about $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Up 6.2 %

GE opened at $189.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $203.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. General Electric has a 1 year low of $150.20 and a 1 year high of $214.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $195.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.48.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.06 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GE shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research upgraded General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.33.

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.