General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Up 5.9% After Strong Earnings

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s stock price traded up 5.9% on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $160.02 and last traded at $159.09. 6,384,708 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 7,956,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.19.

The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 13.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.07.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other General Electric 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 value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Walker Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.7% during the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.6% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,067 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $173.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $159.52 and a 200-day moving average of $135.03.

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.