General Electric Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GE)

General Electric (NYSE:GE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 49,874 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,814 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Walker Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in General Electric by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its holdings in General Electric by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,067 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. TheStreet raised General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.07.

General Electric Trading Down 3.2 %

General Electric stock opened at $148.09 on Friday. General Electric has a 52 week low of $76.87 and a 52 week high of $158.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.37.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.38%.

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.