General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 1%

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price traded down 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $150.75 and last traded at $151.44. 2,533,094 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 7,901,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $159.32 and its 200 day moving average is $134.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Sei Investments Co. raised 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 acquiring an additional 27,682 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.