General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 298.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,068 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 54,745 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in General Motors were worth $3,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $25,404,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in General Motors by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 463,848 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $25,178,000 after buying an additional 39,474 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in General Motors by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,054 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $10,763,000 after buying an additional 19,924 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $394,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in General Motors by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 64,930 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 25,639 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GM shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of General Motors to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of General Motors from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of General Motors from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of General Motors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.56.

General Motors Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE GM traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $47.50. The stock had a trading volume of 7,948,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,170,290. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Motors has a 12-month low of $38.96 and a 12-month high of $61.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.30.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $44.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.64 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from General Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. General Motors's payout ratio is presently 8.65%.

General Motors declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.