General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 0.3% - Here's What Happened

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) were down 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $170.13 and last traded at $170.89. Approximately 460,675 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 6,105,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Melius Research lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.93.

General Electric Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $176.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17.

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 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 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 company earned $0.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.68%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is 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 GE. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $395,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,416 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 28.9% in the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,434 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 6.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,371 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. 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.