General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading 2.1% Higher – Here’s What Happened

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) shot up 2.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $47.40 and last traded at $46.96. 3,916,918 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 15,196,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GM shares. Morgan Stanley cut General Motors from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on General Motors from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nomura Securities raised General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.47.

General Motors Stock Up 4.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.73. The stock has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. General Motors’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $108,907.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $489,942.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $108,907.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $489,942.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in General Motors by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,211,609,000 after acquiring an additional 6,201,777 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its stake in General Motors by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $601,730,000 after purchasing an additional 135,717 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $600,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in General Motors by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,847,440 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $411,052,000 after acquiring an additional 223,260 shares in the last quarter. 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.