GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Should You Buy?

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $223.55 and last traded at $221.69. 1,880,023 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 5,345,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $218.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on GE Aerospace from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on GE Aerospace from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on GE Aerospace from $207.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of GE Aerospace in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.92.

GE Aerospace Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.71. The company has a market cap of $242.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $9.06 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GE Aerospace Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is an increase from GE Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. GE Aerospace's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Insider Activity

In other GE Aerospace news, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of GE Aerospace stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,766,899.35. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of GE Aerospace stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,270,264.20. The trade was a 26.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of GE Aerospace

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GE Aerospace during the 4th quarter valued at $795,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,064,417 shares of the company's stock worth $177,535,000 after buying an additional 29,844 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,254,637 shares of the company's stock worth $376,051,000 after buying an additional 37,884 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 25,808 shares of the company's stock worth $4,305,000 after buying an additional 5,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GE Aerospace during the 4th quarter worth $507,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.