General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 1.2% Higher - Time to Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $212.19 and last traded at $210.72. Approximately 848,316 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,470,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GE shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Trading Down 4.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $214.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. General Electric's payout ratio is 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GE. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 5.2% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,364 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 1.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 98,308 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $18,539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 4.2% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 21,069.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $598,391,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158,153 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 19.5% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,587 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.