General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.4%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares were down 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $160.06 and last traded at $160.34. Approximately 916,246 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 7,583,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.21.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $175.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $162.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.94.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in General Electric by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 16,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Walker Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 1.7% in the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.8% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 1,956 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.