General Motors (NYSE:GM) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $60.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. General Motors traded as high as $46.13 and last traded at $46.07, with a volume of 1920341 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.62.

GM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of General Motors from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of General Motors from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on General Motors from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on General Motors from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.65.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In related news, EVP Gerald Johnson sold 27,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.26, for a total value of $1,227,541.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,236,361.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gerald Johnson sold 27,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.26, for a total transaction of $1,227,541.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,236,361.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Julian G. Blissett sold 13,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.24, for a total transaction of $528,706.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,348,562.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 86,248 shares of company stock valued at $3,614,078. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in General Motors by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 475,061 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $17,064,000 after acquiring an additional 74,194 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in General Motors by 361.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 119,714 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $4,300,000 after purchasing an additional 93,754 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 394,047 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $12,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51,336 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 147,383 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,859,000 after acquiring an additional 14,002 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd lifted its holdings in General Motors by 195.0% during the fourth quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 41,300 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 27,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.19. The firm has a market cap of $52.54 billion, a PE ratio of 5.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.51.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $43.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.09 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

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.