General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 0.2%

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $161.00 and last traded at $160.31. 2,353,433 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 7,703,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.21.

General Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $178.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 5.05%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that General Electric will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 36.72%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Choate Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 16,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Walker Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 1.7% in the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,777 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 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.

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