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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GM shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nomura Securities raised shares of General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.92.

General Motors Trading Up 3.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $66.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.24, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.74 and its 200 day moving average is $47.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Motors news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 506,824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,040,244.84. This represents a 42.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 9,307 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total transaction of $502,671.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,787.13. The trade was a 52.23 % 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 worth $55,974,057 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of General Motors during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in General Motors in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 56.1% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.