General Motors (NYSE:GM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 13,057,746 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 19% from the previous session’s volume of 10,993,902 shares.The stock last traded at $48.67 and had previously closed at $49.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on GM shares. DZ Bank lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 11th. HSBC downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on General Motors from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of General Motors from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.28.

General Motors Stock Down 2.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.40.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Research analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.41 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $510,865.13. This represents a 51.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 514,344 shares of company stock valued at $28,977,691. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in General Motors in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

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.