Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,557,423 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 610,897 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in General Motors were worth $136,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in General Motors during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 9,960.0% in the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 503 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 551.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 502 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Motors Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE GM opened at $46.65 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. General Motors has a 1 year low of $38.96 and a 1 year high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GM. HSBC cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised their target price on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

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.