General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 1.1%

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) traded down 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $163.40 and last traded at $164.55. 915,036 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,702,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.38.

General Electric Stock Down 1.5 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $179.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.74, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 37.9% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 211 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD grew its stake in General Electric by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its holdings in General Electric by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp raised its position in shares of General Electric by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,572 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of General Electric by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 10,737 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.