General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Here’s Why

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $170.74 and last traded at $171.58. Approximately 1,371,924 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 4,194,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on GE shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.47.

General Electric Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $187.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.34 and a 200-day moving average of $173.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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

General Electric Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in General Electric by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 21,719 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 9,693 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 551,171 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $91,930,000 after purchasing an additional 4,828 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its stake in General Electric by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 22,660 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,779,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.