General Motors (NYSE:GM) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $45.00 to $48.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the auto manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on General Motors in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho increased their price target on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Motors currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.06.

General Motors Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of GM stock opened at $49.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.46. General Motors has a 12-month low of $38.96 and a 12-month high of $61.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. Equities research analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in General Motors by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,164 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $474,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of General Motors by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 463,848 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,178,000 after acquiring an additional 39,474 shares in the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter worth $1,044,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in General Motors by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,054 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $10,763,000 after purchasing an additional 19,924 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

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.