General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 1.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.5% on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $201.00 to $209.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. General Electric traded as high as $162.18 and last traded at $161.41. Approximately 815,007 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 7,273,167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.97.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.93.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total transaction of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 112,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,391,821.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Halpern Financial Inc. increased its stake in General Electric by 968.4% in the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 90.2% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.65, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $162.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. General Electric's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric's payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

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.