Merit Financial Group LLC Has $3.44 Million Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 298.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,068 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after purchasing 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 SEC filing.

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

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.50. 7,948,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,148,934. The company has a market cap 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $46.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.43. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $38.96 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last released 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 the consensus estimate of $42.64 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from General Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. General Motors's payout ratio is presently 8.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen initiated coverage on General Motors in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on General Motors from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up from $43.00) on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $36.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.56.

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.