General Motors (NYSE:GM) Given New $54.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $58.00 to $54.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the auto manufacturer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of General Motors from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on General Motors in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. They set an outperform rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on General Motors from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.17.

General Motors Stock Performance

GM traded up $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.48. 14,119,682 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,006,579. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. General Motors has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $6,516,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 176,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,684,840.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,152,621 shares of company stock valued at $51,818,111. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $602,280,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,201,777 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 1st quarter worth $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in General Motors by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after buying an additional 2,905,689 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.