General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Down 2.8%

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) dropped 2.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $46.97 and last traded at $47.49. Approximately 4,520,237 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 15,285,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of General Motors from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday. Nomura Securities raised shares of General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

General Motors Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $54.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.29.

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

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to buy up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $627,210.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 14.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors during the first quarter valued at about $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in General Motors by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of General Motors by 16.8% during the 4th 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 grew its stake in General Motors by 1,213.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Company Profile

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.