General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $54.92, but opened at $50.98. General Motors shares last traded at $50.39, with a volume of 8,907,675 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on General Motors from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of General Motors from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.28.

General Motors Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.95. The firm has a market cap of $54.82 billion, a PE ratio of 5.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.42.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 16.30%. Research analysts forecast that General Motors will post 10.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.12%.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,865.13. The trade was a 51.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 122,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total value of $6,745,130.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 126,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,000,190.12. The trade was a 49.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 514,344 shares of company stock worth $28,977,691 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GM. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Company Profile

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.