GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 0.4% - Here's What Happened

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) shares traded down 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $196.86 and last traded at $199.62. 694,162 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,889,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on GE Aerospace from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on GE Aerospace from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of GE Aerospace in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of GE Aerospace from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.92.

GE Aerospace Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $194.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.08. The company has a market capitalization of $221.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, 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 quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.20. GE Aerospace had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.06 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

GE Aerospace Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. 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 0.69%. This is a boost from GE Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. GE Aerospace's payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at GE Aerospace

In other news, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of GE Aerospace stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,540 shares in the company, valued at $2,270,264.20. The trade was a 26.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.67, for a total transaction of $321,473.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,766,899.35. The trade was a 15.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in GE Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GE Aerospace during the 4th quarter worth $795,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 2.9% in 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 period. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of GE Aerospace by 1.7% in 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 period. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in GE Aerospace by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 25,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GE Aerospace

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.