General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 1.3%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares were up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $172.04 and last traded at $171.92. Approximately 989,875 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 6,610,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com downgraded General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.14.

General Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.22 and a 200 day moving average of $171.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2,818.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,237,930,000 after purchasing an additional 12,312,648 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth $1,193,159,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in General Electric by 9.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after purchasing an additional 5,309,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in General Electric by 221.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,250,079,000 after buying an additional 4,907,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

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.