General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading 2.2% Higher

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)’s share price rose 2.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $48.18 and last traded at $47.90. Approximately 2,488,399 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 15,305,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GM. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Nomura lowered General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.27.

General Motors Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.20 and a 200-day moving average of $45.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $54.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released 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 analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

General Motors announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other General Motors news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in General Motors by 56.1% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in General Motors by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 832 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently 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.