General Motors (NYSE:GM) Announces Earnings Results

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The auto manufacturer reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.15, Zacks reports. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GM opened at $46.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.33. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $38.96 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from General Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. General Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in General Motors stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 456.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,717 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 31,755 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in General Motors were worth $2,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company's stock.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on GM shares. Barclays lowered General Motors from an "overweight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.83.

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.

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