Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in General Motors, purchasing 28,261 shares valued at approximately $1,329,000 during the first quarter.
• General Motors announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with a payout yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 9.52%.
• Several analysts have provided optimistic ratings for General Motors, with price targets raised, including Citigroup increasing their target from $59.00 to $61.00.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 28,261 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $25,404,000. Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,683 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,221 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in General Motors by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 6,111,582 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $287,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712,033 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $312,000. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new position in General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $292,000. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $36.00 target price on General Motors in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their target price on General Motors from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Motors from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on General Motors from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.53.

General Motors Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of General Motors stock traded up $0.48 on Friday, hitting $56.90. 1,941,309 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,875,758. General Motors Company has a one year low of $41.60 and a one year high of $61.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.87. The company has a market capitalization of $54.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.01. General Motors had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 2.54%. The company had revenue of $47.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Motors Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. General Motors's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 23,977 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $1,271,020.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,274.13. This represents a 73.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

General Motors 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.