General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Up 0.3%

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price was up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $155.38 and last traded at $154.10. Approximately 1,302,904 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 7,959,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GE shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

General Electric Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.49. The company has a market capitalization of $170.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Halpern Financial Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.