General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading 1.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)’s stock price rose 1.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $46.15 and last traded at $45.75. Approximately 2,503,594 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 15,221,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of General Motors from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.47.

General Motors Trading Up 1.6 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.88 and a 200 day moving average of $45.61. The company has a market cap of $52.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. The company 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%. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.87%.

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

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other General Motors news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $417,307.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in General Motors by 14.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,211,609,000 after buying an additional 6,201,777 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in General Motors by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $726,942,000 after buying an additional 2,905,689 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,247,050 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,951,561 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $601,730,000 after acquiring an additional 135,717 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in General Motors by 9.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,922,021 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $600,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.