General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 0.4%

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $169.61 and last traded at $170.58. 959,355 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,798,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of General Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.38.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $187.42 billion, a PE ratio of 56.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $164.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.91.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in General Electric by 2,818.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312,648 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $1,193,159,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $10,373,936,000 after purchasing an additional 5,309,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 221.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,250,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.