General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 0.1% Higher After Dividend Announcement

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) rose 0.1% during trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $157.95 and last traded at $156.42. Approximately 3,996,214 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 6,619,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.30.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. General Electric's payout ratio is currently 3.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on General Electric from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.00.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $155.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 analysts' expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its position in General Electric by 968.4% during the fourth quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Company Profile

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.