General Motors (NYSE:GM) Price Target Raised to $48.00

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) had its target price raised by Piper Sandler from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the auto manufacturer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.06.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of General Motors stock opened at $49.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $49.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13. General Motors has a 1 year low of $38.96 and a 1 year high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Equities analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 1.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 52,193 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,340,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 15.3% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 29,402 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,899 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 25.7% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 24,891 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,089 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the third quarter worth about $2,730,000. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 7.7% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 41,143 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,845,000 after buying an additional 2,954 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.