General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 3.2%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares were down 3.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $155.56 and last traded at $157.46. Approximately 3,940,034 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 8,081,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on GE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Argus raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

General Electric Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.45 and its 200-day moving average is $135.73.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.95 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Halpern Financial Inc. lifted 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 last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.