General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 1.2%

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price dropped 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $162.42 and last traded at $163.79. Approximately 824,481 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 7,122,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Vertical Research started coverage on General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.93.

General Electric Stock Performance

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.52. The company has a market cap of $177.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.21.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 112,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,613,000 after purchasing an additional 6,419 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 261,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,335,000 after buying an additional 28,985 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas increased its position in General Electric by 24,042.9% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 10,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 10,098 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,783 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,432,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 225,814 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $28,821,000 after acquiring an additional 5,997 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

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.