General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading Up 2.2%

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) was up 2.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $48.18 and last traded at $47.90. Approximately 2,488,399 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 15,305,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on General Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.27.

General Motors Stock Down 0.1 %

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 50 day simple moving average of $46.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.47 billion, a PE ratio of 6.04, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of General Motors 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $417,307.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 14.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after acquiring an additional 6,201,777 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in General Motors in the first quarter worth about $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 21.9% in 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 buying an additional 3,247,050 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings 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 valued at $79,159,000 after buying an additional 2,035,925 shares during the last quarter. 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.