General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 1.9% Higher - Here's What Happened

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $170.70 and last traded at $170.00. 966,212 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,084,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GE. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research raised their target price on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.47.

General Electric Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business's fifty day moving average price is $174.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,613,332,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in General Electric by 91.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,465,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719,894 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in General Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $580,200,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 21,069.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $598,391,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158,153 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 18,693.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,614,022 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $256,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

General Electric Company Profile

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.