General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 1.6% - Here's What Happened

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $185.73 and last traded at $185.51. Approximately 675,414 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 6,238,397 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted 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 dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.93.

General Electric Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $199.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $181.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.33.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. General Electric's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the second quarter worth about $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in General Electric by 2,818.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after buying an additional 12,312,648 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $10,373,936,000 after purchasing an additional 5,309,543 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in General Electric by 221.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,250,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,465,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719,894 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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