General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 0.1%

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price dropped 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $157.12 and last traded at $158.99. Approximately 1,862,756 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 8,087,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GE. Argus upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.29.

General Electric Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.13, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29.

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 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 analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 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 owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,444,222 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,288,136,000 after acquiring an additional 550,996 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in General Electric by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,588,433 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,170,551,000 after purchasing an additional 410,061 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,193,159,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of General Electric by 5.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,955,511 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $990,032,000 after acquiring an additional 434,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in General Electric by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 6,655,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $849,385,000 after purchasing an additional 426,794 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Company Profile

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.