Capital International Investors Lowers Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Capital International Investors trimmed its position in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 60.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,919,062 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,958,248 shares during the period. Capital International Investors’ holdings in General Motors were worth $87,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GM. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the first quarter worth $25,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in General Motors during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 832 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors in the first quarter worth $32,000. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GM shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on General Motors in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Motors from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.38.

General Motors Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of GM stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.12. The stock had a trading volume of 18,411,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,026,488. General Motors has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $50.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total transaction of $15,770,320.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 898,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,431,657.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total transaction of $6,516,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 176,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,684,840.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total value of $15,770,320.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 898,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,431,657.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,152,621 shares of company stock worth $51,818,111 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.