General Motors (NYSE:GM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.58.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GM. Morgan Stanley raised General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Motors from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of General Motors from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $535,229.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,865.13. This trade represents a 51.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,040,244.84. The trade was a 42.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,030,475 shares of company stock valued at $56,509,286 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in General Motors by 972.6% in 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 buying an additional 1,906,964 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in General Motors by 123.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,226,027 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $144,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779,897 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in General Motors by 581.4% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,601,856 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $71,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366,768 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in General Motors by 158.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,171,587 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $97,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332,450 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,922,021 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $600,291,000 after buying an additional 1,091,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM stock opened at $51.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $53.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.35. General Motors has a 12 month low of $34.32 and a 12 month high of $61.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $56.93 billion, a PE ratio of 5.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.42.

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

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.12%.

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.