General Motors (NYSE:GM) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $51.76 and last traded at $51.72, with a volume of 6043565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.93.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. General Motors’s payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GM shares. Barclays raised their price objective on General Motors from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. DZ Bank downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.35.

General Motors Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.97. The company has a market cap of $59.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at $11,551,173.92. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $108,907.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,942.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Motors by 34.5% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 792 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of 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. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Motors by 3.5% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,804 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in General Motors by 0.6% in the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 36,624 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Motors by 1.6% in the second quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 15,233 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. 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.