Banco Santander S.A. Sells 368,904 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 98.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,620 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 368,904 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in General Motors by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 21,178 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 172,500 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $9,189,000 after purchasing an additional 27,500 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of General Motors by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 94,079 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,012,000 after purchasing an additional 51,777 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $930,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth $546,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GM. Cowen assumed coverage on General Motors in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.89.

General Motors Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of GM stock opened at $48.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. General Motors has a 1 year low of $38.94 and a 1 year high of $61.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly 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%. Research analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.