General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 1% Higher

General Electric (NYSE:GE) traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $150.69 and last traded at $149.53. 1,777,194 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 7,921,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

General Electric Trading Up 8.3 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $159.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s 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 completion of 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,193,159,000. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $520,488,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in General Electric by 265.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,008,425 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $332,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,793 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $268,519,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 11,947.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,576,570 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $201,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,484 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.