General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Up 5.3%

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $145.18 and last traded at $143.76. 5,075,660 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 6,273,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GE. TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.38.

General Electric Stock Up 6.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $154.45 and its 200 day moving average is $130.91. The stock has a market cap of $159.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. General Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its stake in General Electric by 968.4% during the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Electric

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.