Insider Buying: General Motors (NYSE:GM) Director Buys 12,000 Shares of Stock

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.66 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

General Motors Trading Down 0.1 %

GM opened at $49.46 on Friday. General Motors has a one year low of $37.60 and a one year high of $61.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. Analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.45 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GM shares. StockNews.com raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings 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 worth $94,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,964 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 123.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,226,027 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $144,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779,897 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 581.4% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,601,856 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $71,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366,768 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 158.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in General Motors by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 4,399,549 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $234,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,958 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.