General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Up 0.6% - Here's Why

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) rose 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $173.68 and last traded at $172.94. Approximately 1,184,640 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 3,034,132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Citigroup increased their target price on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.47.

General Electric Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $186.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 97.5% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.