General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $60.20, but opened at $57.65. General Motors shares last traded at $57.19, with a volume of 1,423,709 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of General Motors from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nomura lowered shares of General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush increased their price target on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.92.

General Motors Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.92, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.94.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.47. General Motors had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The business had revenue of $48.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that General Motors will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 9,307 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total value of $502,671.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,787.13. The trade was a 52.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 506,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.33, for a total transaction of $27,028,923.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,040,244.84. This represents a 42.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,030,475 shares of company stock worth $56,509,286. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GM. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in General Motors by 972.6% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,906,964 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,226,027 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $144,655,000 after buying an additional 1,779,897 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake 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 valued at $71,827,000 after buying an additional 1,366,768 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in General Motors by 158.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,332,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in General Motors by 9.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,922,021 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $600,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,137 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.