General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 2.8%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) fell 2.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $150.76 and last traded at $155.77. 2,482,960 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 7,095,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GE. UBS Group upped their target price on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. TD Cowen raised General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.71.

General Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.04. The firm has a market cap of $173.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 112,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.4% during the second quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.2% during the second quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in General Electric by 0.4% during the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 16,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co lifted its holdings in General Electric by 1.7% during the second quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 3,912 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

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.