General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 0.8%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares shot up 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $169.44 and last traded at $169.38. 930,087 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 7,825,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.29.

General Electric Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $162.20 and a 200-day moving average of $138.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $185.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.53, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 36.72%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Walker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 1.7% during the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in General Electric by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 1.1% in the first quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 6,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 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.