General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Up 2.2%

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) was up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $46.87 and last traded at $46.84. Approximately 2,853,634 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 15,260,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GM. Nomura Securities raised shares of General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Motors currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.92.

General Motors Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $53.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.18.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

General Motors announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at $11,551,173.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,942.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GM. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in General Motors in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 56.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors 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.