GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.3% - Here's What Happened

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) shares traded down 0.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $212.73 and last traded at $213.87. 745,140 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 5,346,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of GE Aerospace in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of GE Aerospace from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on GE Aerospace in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on GE Aerospace from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.92.

GE Aerospace Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $236.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $195.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.25.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.20. GE Aerospace had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.06 billion. On average, analysts forecast that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GE Aerospace Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from GE Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. GE Aerospace's payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Insider Activity at GE Aerospace

In other GE Aerospace news, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of GE Aerospace stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total transaction of $807,379.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,270,264.20. The trade was a 26.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.67, for a total value of $321,473.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,766,899.35. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GE Aerospace

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 234,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,139,000 after purchasing an additional 13,778 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of GE Aerospace during the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in GE Aerospace by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its stake in shares of GE Aerospace by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 4,637 shares of the company's stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

GE Aerospace Company Profile

GE Aerospace (also known as General Electric) is a company that specializes in providing aerospace products and services. It operates through two reportable segments: Commercial Engines and Services and Defense and Propulsion Technologies. It offers jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business, and general aviation aircraft.