General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 1.9%

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $167.96 and last traded at $167.26. 1,389,945 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 7,864,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.29.

General Electric Stock Up 2.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $183.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.30.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. General Electric’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC boosted 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is 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.