General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 0.1% - Time to Sell?

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $170.71 and last traded at $172.06. Approximately 895,447 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 4,068,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GE shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.47.

General Electric Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $187.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $174.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.28.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its stake in General Electric by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 22,660 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in General Electric by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 19,643 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,276,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in General Electric by 217.4% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,888 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 4,033 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in General Electric by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 27,689 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,618,000 after buying an additional 6,729 shares in 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.