General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.8% - Here's What Happened

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) shares were down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $175.70 and last traded at $176.16. Approximately 454,734 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 6,202,610 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered General Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.93.

General Electric Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $192.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a PEG ratio of 1.75 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $182.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 5,686 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in General Electric by 69.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 55,468 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $9,737,000 after acquiring an additional 22,689 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 72.1% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 102.7% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 10,940 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is 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.

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