General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 2.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) rose 2.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $186.83 and last traded at $186.66. Approximately 1,451,485 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,457,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $213.33.

General Electric Stock Performance

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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $196.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.53. The stock has a market cap of $195.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in General Electric by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,815,318 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $14,980,297,000 after purchasing an additional 410,172 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 66,823,968 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,145,570,000 after buying an additional 965,012 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in General Electric by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,117,418 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,846,587,000 after buying an additional 529,457 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $2,375,439,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in General Electric by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,046,867 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,675,717,000 after purchasing an additional 553,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

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.