General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 2.5%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares dropped 2.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $162.23 and last traded at $162.82. Approximately 885,777 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,630,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GE. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $201.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com cut General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.14.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in General Electric in the second quarter worth $725,000. Lazari Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in General Electric by 15.6% in the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,796 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric during the second quarter worth $17,179,000. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 725.5% during the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 21,314 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after purchasing an additional 18,732 shares during the period. 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.