General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price was up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $173.58 and last traded at $172.85. Approximately 4,527,662 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 4,825,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GE shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.47.

General Electric Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $174.32 and its 200-day moving average is $173.28. The company has a market capitalization of $187.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.68%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total value of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Private Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 22,660 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 19,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,276,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 217.4% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,888 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 4,033 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 27,689 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,618,000 after acquiring an additional 6,729 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.