General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $43.21, but opened at $45.89. General Motors shares last traded at $45.30, with a volume of 8,988,857 shares traded.

The auto manufacturer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.60. General Motors had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 5.89%. The company had revenue of $43.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 6.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GM. Mizuho lifted their target price on General Motors from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on General Motors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of General Motors from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on General Motors in a research report on Friday, March 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.52.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other news, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $540,315. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other General Motors news, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $540,315. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gerald Johnson sold 27,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.26, for a total transaction of $1,227,541.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,236,361.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,248 shares of company stock valued at $3,614,078. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in General Motors by 173.8% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 764 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in General Motors by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 832 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in General Motors during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Motors Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.06. The company has a market capitalization of $52.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.51.

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.