General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Gap Down to $48.88

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $48.88, but opened at $47.60. General Motors shares last traded at $47.34, with a volume of 1,853,377 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of General Motors from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday. Nomura cut shares of General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.17.

General Motors Stock Down 3.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $53.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.78, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $489,942.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,942.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors grew its position 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 valued at $2,211,609,000 after buying an additional 6,201,777 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $726,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247,050 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in General Motors by 1.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,951,561 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $601,730,000 after purchasing an additional 135,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $600,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,137 shares during the period. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.