General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 5.9% Higher After Strong Earnings

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) rose 5.9% during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $160.02 and last traded at $159.09. Approximately 6,384,708 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 7,956,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.19.

The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GE. StockNews.com began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Sunday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Up 8.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.39.

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.