General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.6% – Should You Sell?

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $167.03 and last traded at $167.03. 424,444 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 6,074,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Melius Research boosted their price target on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.93.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $180.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,323,553 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $249,596,000 after purchasing an additional 48,543 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,725,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,655 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,862,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Finally, Tyro Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 0.6% in the third quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC now owns 70,607 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,315,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.