General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.8% - What's Next?

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $170.74 and last traded at $171.58. Approximately 1,371,924 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 4,194,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America raised 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Melius Research lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.47.

General Electric Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $185.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $174.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.36.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders 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 is Friday, December 27th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 19.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 12.8% in the 3rd 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 boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.6% in the third quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.0% in the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Meridian Management Co. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 1.2% during the third quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.0% during the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 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.