General Motors (NYSE:GM) Lowered to Market Perform at Sanford C. Bernstein

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) was downgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $53.00 price objective on the auto manufacturer’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on General Motors in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Nomura downgraded General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.17.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM opened at $48.88 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.29. The company has a market cap of $55.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. General Motors has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $50.50.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter worth $335,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in General Motors by 59.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 46,226 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 12,168 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 24,127 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 2,523 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.