General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Down 0.6%

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)’s stock price fell 0.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $44.39 and last traded at $44.55. 3,853,979 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 15,283,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GM. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nomura Securities raised shares of General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on General Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut General Motors from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.47.

General Motors Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.92 and a 200 day moving average of $45.59. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other General Motors 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,942.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 bought 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in General Motors during the first quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of General Motors during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 56.1% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.