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

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares were down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $157.12 and last traded at $158.99. Approximately 1,862,756 shares traded hands during 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 equities analysts have issued reports on GE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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 started coverage on General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.00.

General Electric Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $177.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.17.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm 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 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its stake in General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.