General Motors (NYSE:GM) Stock Price Up 2.1%

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) traded up 2.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $48.64 and last traded at $48.53. 2,150,172 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 15,270,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.27.

General Motors Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.22 and a 200-day moving average of $45.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $55.58 billion, a PE ratio of 5.95, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. General Motors’s payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

General Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to buy up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction of $627,210.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $417,307.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $627,210.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 14.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,211,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,201,777 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in General Motors in the 1st quarter worth about $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 1,213.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,203,771 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $79,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

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.