General Electric Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GE)

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 51,374 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 129% compared to the average daily volume of 22,441 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research boosted their target price on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.47.

General Electric Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of GE stock traded up $12.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $200.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,394,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,436,080. 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 has a market capitalization of $217.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $174.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.59. General Electric has a one year low of $101.16 and a one year high of $207.65.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. Equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. General Electric's payout ratio is 19.68%.

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.