General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 0.8%

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price rose 0.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $165.02 and last traded at $164.77. Approximately 1,087,828 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 7,174,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GE shares. UBS Group raised their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus raised their price target on General Electric from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.93.

General Electric Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $178.56 billion, a PE ratio of 54.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 112,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,391,821.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 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.