General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $53.00. The stock had previously closed at $50.95, but opened at $46.99. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. General Motors shares last traded at $46.73, with a volume of 11,803,037 shares trading hands.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cowen assumed coverage on General Motors in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $73.00 target price on General Motors in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,195,961 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $63,709,000 after acquiring an additional 7,081 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new position in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in General Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $25,824,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in General Motors by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,451 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $60,198,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Motors Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.55.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. As a group, research analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.