General Motors (NYSE:GM) Trading Up 2.1% – Here’s Why

General Motors (NYSE:GM – Get Your Free Report ) (TSE:GMM.U) traded up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $47.40 and last traded at $46.96. 3,916,918 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, down 74% from the session’s average volume of 15,196,334 shares. Shares previously closed at $46.01.

Analyst upgrades and downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of General Motors from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday, the 25th September. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.47, according to MarketBeat.com.

Read our latest report on GM

General Motors Price Performance

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 fifty day moving average of $45.98 and a two hundred day 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 – Get Your Free Report ) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The automaker reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company’s revenue rose 7.2% year-over-year. In the same period last year, the company posted earnings per share of $1.91. On average, analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.48 and a dividend yield of 1.00%. General Motors’ dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated 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 automaker to repurchase up to 10.8 percent of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Indoor activity

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the business’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 value of $627,210.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $417,307.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in ownership of the shares. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. This trade represents a 0.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC’s website. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the business’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 value 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 represented a decrease of 0.00 % in the stock holding. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s shares.

Institutional inputs and outputs

Major investors have recently made changes to their business positions. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in General Motors in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in General Motors in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 56.1% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto maker’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in General Motors in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Motors in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 92.67% of shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Motors

(Get a free report)

General Motors Company designs, builds and sells trucks, crossovers, cars and auto parts; and offers services and software-enabled subscriptions worldwide. The company operates through the GM North America, GM International, Cruise and GM Financial segments. It mainly markets its vehicles under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun and Wuling brands.

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