General Motors (NYSE:GM) Stock Price Down 4.8%

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) shares traded down 4.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $44.17 and last traded at $44.27. 7,504,590 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 15,865,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GM. Morgan Stanley cut General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on General Motors from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.38.

General Motors Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $49.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.39, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.97.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 14,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total transaction of $683,616.58. Following the sale, the president now owns 162,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,455,874.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total transaction of $27,219,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,198,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,093,242.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 14,858 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total value of $683,616.58. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 162,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,455,874.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,152,621 shares of company stock worth $51,818,111 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in General Motors in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings 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. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in General Motors by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 832 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Company Profile

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.