General Motors (NYSE:GM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,710,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the November 30th total of 34,130,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 9,307 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total value of $502,671.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $459,787.13. This represents a 52.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 694,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,040,244.84. The trade was a 42.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,030,475 shares of company stock worth $56,509,286. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in General Motors by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,268,096 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $56,861,000 after acquiring an additional 13,206 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 46,542 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 7,076 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in General Motors during the third quarter valued at about $1,633,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in General Motors by 125.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 45,803 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 25,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 44.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 65,389 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 20,206 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GM. Mizuho increased their price target on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush increased their target price on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. HSBC cut General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on General Motors from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.70.

General Motors Trading Down 0.7 %

GM stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.27. 4,733,422 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,509,685. General Motors has a one year low of $34.32 and a one year high of $61.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a PE ratio of 5.68, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.42.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.47. General Motors had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The company had revenue of $48.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that General Motors will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. General Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.12%.

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.