General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 1.9% – Here’s Why

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price was up 1.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $171.97 and last traded at $171.75. Approximately 705,055 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,364,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GE. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research lifted their price objective on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.47.

General Electric Trading Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $186.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $174.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their position. 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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 1.9% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 468,251 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $74,438,000 after acquiring an additional 9,304 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 167,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,703,000 after acquiring an additional 19,085 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 96,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,698 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 13.1% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 122,331 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,446,000 after purchasing an additional 14,194 shares in the last quarter. 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.