General Motors (NYSE:GM) Hits New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

Key Points

• General Motors reached a new 52-week high of $65.27 after reporting earnings per share of $2.80, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.32.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting a 0.9% annualized yield.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment, with JPMorgan increasing its price target for GM stock from $60.00 to $80.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $64.00 and last traded at $65.27, with a volume of 5730467 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.00.

The auto manufacturer reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $48.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.60 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 2.54%.General Motors's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. General Motors has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.750-10.500 EPS.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. General Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on General Motors from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of General Motors from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on General Motors from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other General Motors news, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 23,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.01, for a total value of $1,427,634.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $732,547.07. This trade represents a 66.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 753,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.95, for a total transaction of $45,185,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 433,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,989,943.65. This trade represents a 63.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,074,824 shares of company stock valued at $122,377,213. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Motors by 11.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,759,703 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $5,450,485,000 after buying an additional 11,418,367 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of General Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $444,319,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 146.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,470,258 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $629,196,000 after purchasing an additional 8,012,743 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 81.1% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 13,018,874 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $640,659,000 after purchasing an additional 5,830,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Motors during the first quarter valued at approximately $175,889,000. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Motors Stock Up 13.8%

The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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.

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