General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) were down 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $184.80 and last traded at $185.82. Approximately 639,046 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 6,480,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.00.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.77 billion, a PE ratio of 60.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.06.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. General Electric’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GE. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 211 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Allegheny Financial Group LTD increased its stake in General Electric by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its holdings in General Electric by 2.2% during the second quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 1.0% in the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,572 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 0.6% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 10,737 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. 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.