General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 0.6% Higher

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price shot up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $170.19 and last traded at $169.78. 1,166,450 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 7,793,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GE shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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 Monday, April 29th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

General Electric Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $184.81 billion, a PE ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.