US Bancorp DE Increases Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

US Bancorp DE increased its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,137 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,838 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in General Motors were worth $5,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in General Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Motors during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of General Motors stock opened at $45.39 on Wednesday. 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 has a twelve month low of $38.94 and a twelve month high of $61.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.47.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GM. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.