Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of General Motors Put Options (NYSE:GM)

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 66,908 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average volume of 50,611 put options.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $592,321,000. Amundi boosted its stake in General Motors by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,914,256 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $250,627,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,973 shares during the period. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 7,397,404 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $394,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,528 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,366,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in General Motors by 972.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,103,036 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $94,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of GM opened at $50.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $50.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.55. General Motors has a 52-week low of $38.96 and a 52-week high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen began coverage on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $73.00 price objective on General Motors in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.06.

General Motors Company 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.