General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 4.6%

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $166.35 and last traded at $166.55. 1,544,431 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,726,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.38.

General Electric Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $165.47 and its 200-day moving average is $162.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.61, a PEG ratio of 1.73 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.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. General Electric's payout ratio is 36.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in General Electric by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,444,222 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,288,136,000 after purchasing an additional 550,996 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 valued at $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,312,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,193,159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

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.