Davis R M Inc. Takes $203,000 Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Davis R M Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,804 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GM. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in General Motors by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,164 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth $474,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in General Motors by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 463,848 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,178,000 after buying an additional 39,474 shares during the period. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth $1,044,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in General Motors by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,054 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $10,763,000 after buying an additional 19,924 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM opened at $47.92 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.49. The company has a market capitalization of $47.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $38.94 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on GM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. StockNews.com lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho increased their price objective on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.89.

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.