General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 92,945,961 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,421,201 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of General Motors worth $4,951,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in General Motors by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,164 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $474,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of General Motors by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 463,848 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,178,000 after purchasing an additional 39,474 shares during the period. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,044,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in General Motors by 10.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. acquired 12,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.06.

General Motors Price Performance

General Motors stock opened at $51.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. General Motors has a 52 week low of $38.96 and a 52 week high of $61.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

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.