General Motors (NYSE:GM) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $59.73 and last traded at $59.70, with a volume of 565461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nomura lowered General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Motors from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.92.

General Motors Trading Down 9.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $60.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.88.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $48.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.67 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 506,824 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.33, for a total transaction of $27,028,923.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,040,244.84. This represents a 42.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig B. Glidden sold 383,142 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $21,697,331.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 122,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,935,192.95. The trade was a 75.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,021,556 shares of company stock valued at $55,974,057 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of General Motors by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 45,803 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 25,443 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in General Motors by 44.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 65,389 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 20,206 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in General Motors during the third quarter valued at $1,907,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors during the third quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Motors by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 330,703 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $14,829,000 after purchasing an additional 26,954 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.