General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 0.4% – Here’s Why

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s stock price traded down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $176.80 and last traded at $176.86. 662,634 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 6,189,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.93.

General Electric Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $191.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.91.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 19.68%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 12.8% in the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 485 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 211 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its position in General Electric by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.4% in the second quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.