General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 1%

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price traded down 1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $150.75 and last traded at $151.44. 2,533,094 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 7,901,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.07.

General Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $161.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.