General Motors (NYSE:GM) Stock Price Down 0.6% – Should You Sell?

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)’s stock price fell 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $44.39 and last traded at $44.55. 3,853,979 shares changed hands during mid-day 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nomura Securities upgraded General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley cut General Motors from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on General Motors from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of General Motors from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.47.

General Motors Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.32 billion, a PE ratio of 5.47, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.87%.

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

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $627,210.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,307.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction of $627,210.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 792 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 225 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Motors by 3.5% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,804 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 0.6% during the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 36,624 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 1.6% in the second quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 15,233 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.