General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 0.8%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares traded up 0.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $158.00 and last traded at $156.92. 1,230,728 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 7,914,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the subject of several research reports. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet raised General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued 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 Stock Down 3.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $159.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.37. The stock has a market cap of $161.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.38%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in General Electric by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,925,000 after buying an additional 27,682 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 1st quarter worth $230,000. 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.