General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading 1.6% Higher

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) was up 1.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $49.85 and last traded at $49.45. Approximately 2,015,350 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 15,266,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GM has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.27.

General Motors Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $55.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

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

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other General Motors news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,942.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of General Motors by 1,213.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,203,771 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $79,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035,925 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in General Motors by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 86,888 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after buying an additional 32,331 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 317.6% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 67,807 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 51,571 shares during the period. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 8.4% during the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 6,337,547 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $287,408,000 after acquiring an additional 492,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors during the second quarter worth $2,886,000. 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.