General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Down 0.1%

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $175.77 and last traded at $176.53. Approximately 1,550,582 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 5,926,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on General Electric from $153.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Electric from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on General Electric from $148.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet raised General Electric from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.54.

General Electric Trading Down 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $191.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. General Electric's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on 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 owns 56,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Halpern Financial Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 74.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.