Morgan Stanley Lowers General Motors (NYSE:GM) to Equal Weight

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $47.00 price target on the auto manufacturer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $46.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America restated a buy rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on General Motors from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of General Motors from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, June 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.38.

General Motors Stock Performance

NYSE GM opened at $44.12 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. General Motors has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $50.50. The company has a market capitalization of $49.59 billion, a PE ratio of 5.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to buy up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other General Motors news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $6,516,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 176,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,684,840.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other General Motors news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now owns 176,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,684,840.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total value of $15,770,320.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 898,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,431,657.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,152,621 shares of company stock worth $51,818,111 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $602,280,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in General Motors by 14.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after buying an additional 6,201,777 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in General Motors during the first quarter worth about $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in General Motors by 21.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in General Motors by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is 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.