General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 3.2%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares traded down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $155.56 and last traded at $157.46. 3,940,034 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 8,081,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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 started coverage on General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.29.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $159.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.39.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.38%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.