General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 5.9% Higher on Strong Earnings

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shot up 5.9% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $160.02 and last traded at $159.09. 6,384,708 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 7,956,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.19.

The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 13.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Vertical Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in General Electric by 14.0% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 58,002 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,181,000 after acquiring an additional 7,125 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 29.5% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 9,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric in the first quarter valued at about $1,009,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its holdings in General Electric by 2.5% in the first quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 14,004 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,987 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Trading Up 5.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.03. The company has a market cap of $173.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29.

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.