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

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U gapped down prior to trading 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.

GM has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $73.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised their target price on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC cut General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Motors presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.11.

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Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GM. Trust Point Inc. lifted its position in General Motors by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 7,241 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 5,759 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Motors by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company's stock.

General Motors Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $46.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50 day moving average is $48.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.61.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. General Motors's payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.