General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 0.6% - Here's What Happened

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) traded down 0.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $169.74 and last traded at $170.76. 784,863 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 6,095,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on GE. Bank of America boosted their price target on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.93.

General Electric Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $175.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 19.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Electric news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GE. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 97.5% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the third quarter valued at $28,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.