General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading 1.6% Higher

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)’s share price was up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $49.85 and last traded at $49.45. Approximately 2,015,350 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 15,266,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GM. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on General Motors in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Nomura cut shares of General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.27.

General Motors Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.23. 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 $55.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.98, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. General Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Motors news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $108,907.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $489,942.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in General Motors in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 56.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Motors in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.