General Motors (NYSE:GM) Hits New 12-Month High at $49.35

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $49.35 and last traded at $49.23, with a volume of 8075990 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GM has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Motors from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of General Motors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.96.

General Motors Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a PE ratio of 5.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.06.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.60. General Motors had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $43.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 5.87%.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to buy up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total value of $27,219,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,198,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,093,242.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total transaction of $6,516,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 176,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,684,840.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total value of $27,219,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,198,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,093,242.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,152,621 shares of company stock valued at $51,818,111 over the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in General Motors by 56.1% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 92.67% of the stock is 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.