General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s stock price fell 0.8% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $166.55 and last traded at $167.03. 694,609 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 6,129,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GE shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Melius Research upped their price objective on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.93.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.70.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.68%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction 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 $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 97.5% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric in the third quarter worth $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

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.