General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 1.5%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) dropped 1.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $159.70 and last traded at $160.57. Approximately 798,289 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 7,220,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on General Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Argus upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.93.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $175.60 billion, a PE ratio of 52.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. 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 50 day simple moving average of $162.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.27.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total value of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 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.