Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 6,179 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Wedbush Securities Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 16.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,629 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 6,179 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in General Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in General Motors by 56.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nomura Securities upgraded General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $489,942.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Stock Down 5.4 %

General Motors stock opened at $44.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.92. The company has a market cap of $51.14 billion, a PE ratio of 5.48, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.43. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About General Motors

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts; and provide software-enabled services and subscriptions worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling brand names.