General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,749 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 291 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GM. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in General Motors in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 56.1% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 832 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $627,210.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $417,307.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at $11,551,173.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction of $627,210.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GM shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Nomura cut shares of General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.27.

General Motors Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of GM opened at $46.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.03. General Motors has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $50.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.66, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

General Motors 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.