General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 2.3% – Should You Sell?

General Electric (NYSE:GE) was down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $170.51 and last traded at $170.58. Approximately 1,198,876 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 6,321,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GE shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.93.

General Electric Trading Down 1.7 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $180.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.68%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,373,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309,543 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in General Electric by 2,818.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,237,930,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312,648 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in General Electric by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,405,731 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,336,257,000 after acquiring an additional 459,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in General Electric by 221.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,250,079,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907,530 shares during the last quarter. 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.