Bank of Montreal Can Sells 347,100 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 17.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,619,930 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 347,100 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in General Motors were worth $75,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 56.1% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of General Motors from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $417,307.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM opened at $48.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.85 billion, a PE ratio of 5.88, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.22 and its 200-day moving average is $45.42. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

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

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.