General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 1.1% - Time to Sell?

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $168.34 and last traded at $169.37. 1,522,952 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 6,102,083 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GE shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Melius Research lifted their price objective on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.93.

General Electric Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $182.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. 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's 50-day moving average is $181.46 and its 200 day moving average is $172.50.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.84 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. General Electric's payout ratio is currently 19.68%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tyro Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Electric by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC now owns 70,607 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $13,315,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 206.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,444,466 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $278,247,000 after buying an additional 973,135 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in General Electric by 0.6% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,843 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $9,211,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in General Electric by 33.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 67,199 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $12,672,000 after acquiring an additional 16,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in General Electric by 188.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 41,004 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $7,733,000 after acquiring an additional 26,770 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.