General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $47.90 and last traded at $48.27. Approximately 3,135,966 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 15,259,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Nomura Securities upgraded General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.27.

General Motors Trading Down 0.2 %

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 5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.17.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued 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 business had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,307.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 $11,551,173.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction 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. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 worth $79,159,000 after buying an additional 2,035,925 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 32,331 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in General Motors by 317.6% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 67,807 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 51,571 shares during the period. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. Finally, BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in 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.