General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Here's Why

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $166.94 and last traded at $166.92. Approximately 1,769,431 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 6,120,716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research lifted their target price on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.93.

General Electric Trading Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $182.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50 day moving average is $178.41 and its 200 day moving average is $172.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 12.8% in the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 485 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.6% during the third quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its position in General Electric by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group LTD raised its stake in General Electric by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Management Co. lifted its position in General Electric by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

General Electric Company Profile

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.